A root vegetable, meaning an edible portion grows beneath the soil, turnips are great raw, in salads or cut up in a stew.
Humans have been eating turnips for thousands of years and were a big part of the ancient Greek’s and Roman’s diet. And it’s no wonder because they are a great source of vitamin C as well as potassium and other nutrients.
Turnips taste is closely related to radish, sweet and peppery. They compliment meat dishes beautifully.
Recipes
Baked & Spicy Oregano Rutabaga Fries by Lena at BeTheHappySoul.com
Ingredients:
- For turnips
- 4 turnips (rutabaga’s) peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch french fries
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp oregano
For Sauce:
- 1 medium avocado, pitted
- 2 tbsp light miracle whip
- juice of 1/2 lime
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the sliced turnips in a mixing bowl and toss really well with the chili powder, oregano, and olive oil.
- Lay them out flat onto a lined and greased baking pan (I sprayed olive oil spray onto parchment paper. Bake 15 minutes, take the fries out and flip every one of them then bake for another 15 minutes on the other side.
- While the fries are baking, add the avocado, miracle whip, and lime juice to a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
- Serve together.
Turnip Soup by Ella at HomeCookingAdventure.com
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 or 2 turnips, peeled and grated (Kohlrabi-german turnip or turnip works as well)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 cup celerey root, grated
- red pepper, diced
- 1 small red chili pepper, optional
- 1 1/2 l vegetable stock or chicken stock or water
- 1 or 2 tbsp rice, washed and drained
- 200 g sour cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat and cook onion for about 5 minutes until soft. Stir in carrot and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in celery root and red pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Add turnips, vegetable stock or water, chili pepper if used and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir in rice.
- In a large bowl mix sour cream with egg yolk, add 2 ladles of hot soup, stir well and add to the pot. Let boil for 1 minute then add parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
- Serve with fresh bread or croutons.
Turnip Gratin by Elise Bauer at SimplyRecipies.com
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized young turnips (about 1/2 pound total), peeled, and sliced 1/8-1/4 inch thin
- Olive oil
- 3-4 slices white bread (enough to make two single layers in the pan), crusts removed
- A few slices of onion, very thinly sliced, enough to cover the pan in one layer
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 8×5 baking pan or casserole dish
Directions:
- Blanch raw turnip slices: Preheat oven to 325°F. Blanch the raw turnip slices in salted boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove from water and drain.
- Layer bread, turnip slices, onions, cheese in casserole dish: Coat the inside of the casserole dish with olive oil. Place a layer of bread on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer on half of the turnip slices in a single layer, season with salt and pepper.
- Layer on all of the onions. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add another layer of bread, turnips, and cheese. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Place casserole on top rack of oven. Bake at 325°F for 25 minutes. For the last few minutes, if you want, and you are using a pan (metal or ceramic) that can safely handle broiling temperatures, broil for a couple minutes to brown the top.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving
