Turnip Gratin Soup

The Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook failed me last night. I had turned to it when faced with a plethora of turnips, planted more because I had an available half-barrel and the timing was right than because I wanted a pile of turnips.

The cookbook includes a simple recipe of sliced turnips and potatoes baked in cream and chicken stock. I thought the dish would complete my dinner of grilled pork chops and a simple green salad, at the same time exhausting the turnip supply.

The problem is one of geometry. The recipe calls for slicing the roots a quarter-inch thick, then layering them in a baking dish. But because potatoes and turnips don't fit together like Tetris pieces, big gaps lie between them, so I had to double the amount of liquid to fill those gaps and cover the slices, which led to a soupy mess.

If I were to do it again, I'd slice the roots thinly so they'd form a nearly solid layer. But I'm not about to go out and buy more turnips.