Roasted Turnips


 

Hi everyone, Jess here.  

Don’t fear the turnip.  I know I did for many years, off-put by the bitterness I remembered from my childhood turnip experiences…  boiled until soggy and bitter, never enjoyed, only tolerated, blech.  This is a different era though!  I’ll never forget when my oldest son was just 3 years old, and pulled a hakurei turnip from our CSA box, taking a full-on bite, then another!  This was the first of many that he devoured this way. How could I not give turnips a second chance after this?

In bigger turnips, the peel is where the bitterness hides.  Peel your turnip and take a little bite. See?  Because it’s big, there’s a tiny peppery radish taste, but mostly you have a sweet carrot thing happening.  This particular turnip is a salad variety, so they are great sliced as-is, but roasting works, too!

Smaller turnips, like the hakureis don’t need peeling, but the bigger ones definitely benefit.

If the peppery radish taste gets to you, roasting is a great way to sweeten them up.

A little toss with olive oil, butter, garlic and the like, plus a season to taste makes a big difference.

Here I sautéed some garlic and ginger in Amish roll butter for a spell before tossing it with the turnip cubes.  Thyme is a nice addition too.

Just a 20 minute roast brings on a nice tenderness, and the color of this variety is lovely!

Basic Roasted Turnips

Ingredients (make them your own, this recipe is quite flexible):

  • About 3 cups diced turnips
  • 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Options- one diced apple, or 1 tablespoon thyme leaves

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Peel the turnip and dice into cubes (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch).
  3. Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, add garlic and ginger (and thyme if using) and stir for a minute or two.  
  4. Pour butter over turnip cubes and toss before spreading into a single layer on a a rimmed cookie sheet.  
  5. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender, rattling and flipping them around here and there during cooking. (If using the apple, toss it in for the last 5 minutes of cooking).
  6. Enjoy!

 


About Jess

Jess Anderson is the creator of CSA|365 and is passionate about the local food movement. A long time member of Springdell and a busy mother of two, Jess loves keeping her family fed by honest local food.