Favorite Turnip Recipes?

[GardenerGirl]

Okay, this was my first year growing turnips and they are ready! (I planted them in September). I also need to use the space for something else! We're not thrilled with the taste of them in our stir frys. Any other suggestions? BTW, these are the "Snowball" Turnips. Thanks!

[2dollarbill]

Okay, this was my first year growing turnips and they are ready! (I planted them in September). I also need to use the space for something else! We're not thrilled with the taste of them in our stir frys. Any other suggestions? BTW, these are the "Snowball" Turnips. Thanks!

GardenerGirl,

I too dislike turnips when they have heat applied to them. However, I have discovered that when mixed with kohlrabi, in a 1 to 1 mixture, they make an excellent cole slaw. Just add a little carrot and whalaa.

I will be growing 20 to 30 pounds of turnips(purple top) and kohlrabi this year to can this slaw.

Good harvesting,

2DB

['49er]

I suppose they can be used a lot like a po-ta-TO; boil 'em, mash 'em, put 'em in a stew. Last St. Paddy's Day, I cooked up a corned beef and cabbage along with some winter vegetables, including turnips, rutabagas, and parsnips. Turnips and all were just dandy! Cooking up a batch next weekend. Recipe even includes some Guinness Stout.

I'm starting some turnip seeds soon. Weather out here by the coast is good for growing all year, so I'll be looking for more turnip recipes myself.

[ChemicalGal]

I like them raw, in fact about the only way I will eat them.
cg

[Heartofdixie]

Yum, I love Turnips!

The greens are better in stir fry than the white part. Just toss in some slivered turnip greens towards the end of cooking. Just enough to wilt them.

I like the greens and part of the white part, chopped up into cubes, simmered in chicken broth, with a dash of vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic, and a jalapeno if you like spicey, and a slice of bacon, simmer until tender. Very yummy. Goes great with black eyed peas, or any bean.

You can take cooked turnip greens, with some of the white part diced, and add to black eyed peas, put over rice, and you have Hopp'in John. Eat with corn bread. Yumm! (Cook the black eyed peas with a bit of bacon, or a ham hock, or some diced ham.)

Add a half of a large turnip to a pot of potatos, with about 6 cloves of garlic. Cook until tender, and mash with butter and sour cream for wonderful garlic mashed potatos. The half of turnip makes them, IMO.

Boil or steam until tender, and then mash with cream, (or sour cream), salt and pepper to taste. Very yummy!

Raw, peeled and sliced, sprinkled with salt is always good...

Then of course, put into soups or stews for about the last 20 minutes or so of cooking.

Toss and coat turnips, Parsnips, Potatos, Sweet potatos, Rutabegas, with a little Italian oil type dressing, salt and pepper, spread out in a shallow baking pan and roast until tender, toss them in the pan to mix them up a bit about half way through roasting. Makes a great side dish for roast beef, Pork, chicken, or fish.

[SheWoff]

Turnip greens...those are a little bit of heaven right here on earth! We have a turnip/greens patch twice a year in our garden. Just raise them for the greens, since neither of us likes the root part (except me, then I only eat them raw and sliced up and sprinkled with salt )so we just grow the ones that don't make much of a root.

We do can up those greens too instead of freezing them. And they turn out much better than the frozen ones. You have to pressure can them and when you do, it makes that hard spine in them just as tender as the leaves, sort of like canned spinach you buy at the store. To fix them, we just open a jar and put in a medium sauce pan, add a tablespoon of bacon grease and heat through. Serve those up with some purple hull peas, a mess of fried okra, hot corn bread and a slice of valdalia onion. Yummy!

She

[GardenerGirl]

Thank you all for the wonderful recipe ideas! It's mostly the root part that I'm having trouble using - it's not our favorite flavor! I will definitely try out the slaw and the baked turnips w/italian dressing. And the cubes cooked in chicken broth might be a nice complement to our bbq'd chicken tonight! Thanks!

Turnips turned out to be incredibly easy for me to grow. Just threw the seed in the ground and ignored them! ( We have been selectively thinning out the greens all winter for stir-fry.) Now, I just have to figure out how to get my family to develop a taste for them!

Thank you all again and if there are any more turnip recipes out there, I would love to try them out! (I have a 12 square foot planter box full of the things!)

[joyce1954]

How about Taddy's and Bash? You know mashed taters and turnips You can adjust the turnips as you go and sneak up on the flavor of turnips for them. and I love them steamed with butter.

[GardenerGirl]

Well, I tried this recipe:

3 Potatoes
3 Turnips
2 1/2 cups beef broth (I used chicken)
salt & pepper
Chopped parsley

Cube or slice the potatoes and turnips and cook in broth. Season with salt & pepper and garnish with fresh parsley.

Results: My family was not impressed. I thought it tasted fine but they weren't down with the texture of the turnips. They ate it but no one requested 2nds! I'll be trying the coleslaw and a "turnip puff" next! Thanks for all the great suggestions! Please keep them coming! (I don't want to have to feed these to my neighbor's chickens!)

[Cassie]

I agree with many of the others. I like them raw, and usually slice them up in a salad.