Cooked vegetables are not highly considered in Iraq, where they usually only find a place in a pot with meat, but turnips are treated with special respect. One way of dealing with young turnips is to peel and boil them in salted water, then press them under a weight to squeeze out some of the water, and serve them with a dusting of sugar. A special flavor is obtained when a little date syrup, called dibbis (see page 43), is stirred into the cooking water. Lately, I have tried sautéing sliced turnips with fresh dates and found it very pleasant to serve as a side dish with meat or chicken. You may use a moist variety of California dried dates.

Ingredients

　　1 pound young white turnips, peeled and sliced

　　2 tablespoons butter

　　Salt and pepper

　　6 moist dried dates, pitted and cut into small pieces

Step 1

Step 2

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