Hakurei Turnip & Scallion Stew

Fresh green flavors with satisfying heft from the turnips and the pasta.  Perfect for a cool spring night.  

Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  25 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
5-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning* (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch hakurei turnips, greens washed and chopped, bulbs washed, thinly sliced, and kept separate
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced, about 1 cup
1 cup dried whole wheat pasta, your favorite (or white pasta) 1 cup marinara sauce (Here's a recipe for homemade sauce)
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat the stock and the marinara sauce in a stock pot over medium high heat until it reaches a low boil.

While stock is heating, heat the oil in a saute pan or skillet over medium heat and cook the turnip bulb slices for 2 minutes, stirring.  Add the scallions and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring, or until turnips are beginning to soften.  Remove from heat.

When the liquid reaches a low boil, cook the pasta until it is molto al dente, or slightly undercooked.  Add the chopped turnip greens, and cook for another minute or two or until the pasta is done the way you like it, and the greens are wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Ladle in to serving bowls, and top with Parmesan.  

Serve with crusty bread and a glass of Chianti, and enjoy while looking out over your vineyards.

*Homemade stock has a ton of herb flavor, so you may not need to add more.  However, if you're using off the shelf stock, you might like to add Italian seasoning.

Optional:  Add diced cooked meat, like Italian sausage.


Photo and recipe by Tod Dimmick


 

Summer Slaw

This cool, crunchy, savory salad makes good use of sturdy summer veggies.

Prep time:  20 minutes
Serves:  4-6

INGREDIENTS
3 scallions
2 small fennel bulbs (about 1 cup when shredded)
1/2 head arrowhead cabbage (about 2 cups when shredded)
1 Hakurei Turnip (about 1/2 cup when shredded), greens separated and coarsely chopped
4 small or 2 large carrots (about 1 cup when shredded)
1 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Freshly-ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Using a food processor equipped with the coarse shredding wheel, process the scallions, fennel, cabbage, turnip, and carrots.  Scrape vegetables into a serving bowl, and stir in the basil, sage, lemon juice and olive oil.   Serve, sprinkling with feta and black pepper.

Photos and recipe by Tod Dimmick

Stir Fried Cabbage and Salad Turnips

A fast, tasty vegetable dish with a spicy crunch.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  5-6 Minutes
Serves:  4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
3 TB canola oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
3 garlic scapes, diced, or 1 large clove garlic, crushed
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 cup salad turnips, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2-3 TB soy sauce
1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced
Salt if necessary

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the pepper flakes and ground ginger, and garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until garlic tans in the oil.  Add the cabbage and turnips and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until the crisp veggies begin to turn tender.  Turn off heat, toss with soy sauce and cilantro, and serve (salt if necessary but the soy sauce may add enough salt already).

Photo & Recipe by Tod Dimmick

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.