Red, White & Greens (AKA Beets and Spring Turnips)

This springtime dish is perfect for tender spring beets and turnips that don't need peeling.  Cook the bulbs first, then the greens.

Prep time:  10 Minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch young small beets, with greens
1 bunch young small spring turnips, with greens
1/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Separate the beets and turnips from their greens.  Scrub the bulbs, remove the tap root, and cut into 1/8 inch slices.  Coarsely chop and rinse the greens.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat and cook the beet slices in a single layer for 5 minutes, turning occasionally.  Add the sliced turnips and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the beets are tender when speared with a fork.  Remove to a side plate.

Add the remaining olive oil, the onion, and the garlic to the saute pan.  Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then add the greens and cover.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until greens are wilted.

Arrange greens on a serving platter, and top with cooked beets and turnips.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Grilled Hakurei Turnips

When the summer mood hits, nothing but grilling will do.  A crisp, smoky exterior over creamy-piquant white turnip flesh is a unique pairing.

Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves:  4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch hakurei turnips, scrubbed and cut into 1/4 inch slices (reserve the leaves for another use)
3 TB canola oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ground ginger
dash hot pepper sauce
soy sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your grill.  Place the turnip slices in a plastic bag that can be closed, or a container with a tight fitting lid.  Mix the olive oil, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper sauce.  Pour over the turnip slices, close the lid, and shake to evenly coat the slices.

Arrange slices over the grill and cook for 3 minutes per side, or until browned and just beginning to soften.  Remove to a serving bowl and dress with a few dashes of soy sauce. 

Tip 1:  All grills have different heat levels, so your grill may run shorter or longer than the time listed above.

Tip 2:   Grilling this way works with relatively tender Hakurei turnips.  Other turnips can also be grilled, but you may need to partially cook them first (such as steaming them until half tender).

Photo & Recipe by Tod Dimmick

Two-Way Turnips topped with Toasted Almonds

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










A warm vegetable dish that combines the tenderness of cooked greens with the sweet crunch of salad turnips.

1 large bunch salad turnips, greens washed and coarsely chopped, turnips scrubbed and enough shredded with a box grater (large holes) to make about a cup.
3 TB olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup toasted almonds
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute or two, stirring. Add the greens, cover, and cook for 3 minutes. Then remove the cover, cook and stir for another minute or two until the greens are tender the way you like. Distribute to serving plates, sprinkline with shredded turnips, almonds, and salt and pepper.

Variation: balsamic vinegar is terrific on this. Shredded mozzarella or Parmesan is a nice addition.

Submitted by Tod Dimmick,
"The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Spring Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Photo:
Tod Dimmick











Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4-6

4 slices local bacon
4 TB olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely minced
4TB balsamic vinegar

1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and dried
3-4 salad turnips with greens, turnips scrubbed and sliced, greens washed and dried
3-4 radishes, scrubbed and sliced
3 TB toasted pecans
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat, and drain on paper towels. Pour off the fat (some will remain for flavor, and that's great). Add the olive oil and cook the shallots and garlic for 1 minute, stirring. Turn off the heat. Stir in the vinegar.

Chop the spinach into 1/4 inch pieces.

Place the spinach, turnips, greens, and radishes in a large bowl. Top with the bacon, and pour on the warm dressing. Toss and serve immediately, sprinkling with toasted pecans and black pepper.

Variation: This can easily be made without the bacon.

Submitted by Tod Dimmick,
"The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Turnips

We grow two different kinds of turnips (Brassica rapa) at the farm: salad and storage.

The salad turnip is a sweeter, juicier and more tender version of its cousin, the storage turnip. Our lovely white salad turnips are a Japanese variety called Hakurei (pictured at right). Store salad turnip roots and greens (also edible) separately in plastic bags in the fridge - they will last a week or so. No need to peel, just wash thoroughly and enjoy. The roots are SO delicious raw - eat it like an apple, chop or grate into salads or slaws, or use as a dipping veggie. Roots and greens can both be lightly sauteed.

We also grow storage turnips, specifically Purple-Top turnips. These root vegetables are best cooked and are yummy when added to winter root vegetable roasts and soups. Avoid overcooking to reduce overly strong flavors. Store in a loose plastic bag in the fridge - it will last a couple of months!

Speedy Hakurei (Salad) Turnip Toss

1 bunch Hakurei turnips with greens
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small red onion, diced
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. oil

Heat oil in a large skillet. Trim greens from turnips and set aside. Trim turnips and slice in half. Add to the skillet and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, or until turnips are just starting to brown. Add garlic and onion; saute for five minutes. Chop greens and add to skillet. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until greens are wilted, another couple of minutes.

Roast Chicken and (Storage) Turnips

via Mark Bittman. Yield 4 servings Time 1 1/4 hours

The trick here is to preheat a pan in the oven so that, when the bird is placed in it, the thighs are seared by contact, which gives them a jump on the cooking process.

1 chicken, about 3 pounds

Salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoons softened butter or olive oil

2 pounds white or purple-top turnips, peeled and cut in slices 1/4 inch thick.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a nonstick roasting pan on a rack set low in oven. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and rub it with about a third of the butter or oil. 2. When oven is hot, add another third of the butter or oil to pan. Place chicken in hot pan, breast up; roast 15 minutes, or until top begins to brown. Remove from oven, and scatter turnips around it; dot them with remaining butter, or drizzle with remaining oil. Tilt pan so juices run out of chicken. 3. Roast 15 minutes longer, and then baste chicken with pan juices. Continue to roast (lower heat to 350 if bird is becoming too brown) until an instant-read thermometer inserted in meaty part of thigh registers 155 degrees, 15 to 30 minutes more. Remove bird from pan, and raise heat to 500 degrees. Return turnips to oven in pan. 4. Let chicken rest while turnips brown, about 5 minutes. Carve chicken, and serve with turnips and pan juices.

Pickled Hakurei Turnips

First, boil a beet and 5-6 turnips for eight or nine minutes. Keep them undercooked because the best pickle has a firm crunch. Then peel and slice.Next, the pickling juice.Bring half a cup of white vinegar, 1 cup of water and a heaping tablespoon of coarse salt to a boil. In one jar combine the pickling liquid with a sliced garlic clove, half of the beet, turnips and some pickling spice. In another, leave the garlic, beet and turnips to simply soak up the vinegar base. The jars, filling with a deep pink tint from the beets, are ready to be sealed.Let sit for at least three weeks (the longer the better) in the fridge before eating.