My DH drives a truck to deliver food to needy people for our church. A couple of weeks ago, he went to give them a renewal of his physical results (because only the very fit can drive a truck.) While he was there, they gave him two five pound bags of large gala apple and three huge bunches of turnips with greens. I had recently learned how to make greens when I bought mustard greens at the farmer’s market, so the greens were easy to deal with. I made a spinach and cheese pasta dish with them that was wonderful, and put half in the freezer for later.
I had no clue what to do with the turnips. The web site allrecipes.com only had about three recipes with turnips in them, and they all called for additions like heavy cream and bacon. I was seriously thinking of just tossing them. But on Saturday at my book club meeting, the hostess made a roasted vegetable dish with sweet potatoes, beets, onions and something else. I mentioned that I had a bunch of turnips at home and wasn’t sure what to do with them. The book club ladies assured me that they were very tasty. Liz suggested I google “how to cook turnips” instead of turnip recipes. I found some encouraging ideas, so I tried roasted turnips as a side dish with dinner. They’re prepared very much like roasted red potatoes. Clean and trim the top and root, then quarter. Toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and (’cause I’m Hungarian) paprika. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and server.
They were pretty good. I mean, they aren’t the best vegetables I’ve ever had - maybe with heavy cream and bacon! But they had a nice snappy flavor and they were really filling. And you can’t beat the price (free).
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