Last weekend (Friday) I picked up turnips at the farmers’ market. I have never bought turnips because my dad hates them and I always assumed they were gross. It turns out they are only gross if you steam them too long and don’t season them (not what I did; I am assuming this is how he had them).
Turnips are a root (starch) but only have a third the calories of potatoes (36 calories in 1 cup – 130 grams). They have a ton of nutrients – vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, copper, thiamine, potassium, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B6 and E, and riboflavin.
These turnips happened to be pink! The farmer said they taste about the same as the white ones. She suggested I saute them in oil. So I did.
(For my original massaged kale recipe click here.)
Sauteed Turnips over Massaged Kale
Ingredients (serves 1)
- 1 large turnip
- peanut oil (<1 tablespoon)
- kale
- olive oil, salt, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey
- nooch (nutritional yeast)
Method
- Chop the turnip into bite sized pieces. Heat the peanut oil over high heat; add the turnips. Cook (stirring) for 4-5 minutes or until the turnips are tender.
- Massage your kale with olive oil and salt. Add lemon juice, soy sauce, and honey, to taste.
- Top the kale with the turnips and add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.
While not big enough for a full meal, this was a perfect late afternoon snack. Voluminous and yummy.
Exercise of the day: Self’s Slim and Sleek, Fast! with Ellen Barrett (my favorite instructor). This is free from Netflix streaming. Ellen takes you through a quick warmup (3 minutes or so), then a ballet sequence, cardio, weights, and finally a cool down. It’s about 35 minutes total. When we started the ballet sequence I though that it would not be a good workout, but by the time we finished cardio I was sweating. Will definitely do this again. I also plan on walking home (1.4 miles) if it’s not raining.
Have you eaten turnips? How do you like to cook them?
i think we bought pink turnips from the same farmers market because i’ve never seen pink before! LOVE turnips, haven’t used my pink ones yet. but i was big on the standard white ones this winter. my favorite, and super simple, way to use them is to marinate a chopped turnip in braggs & olive oil, and then roast in the oven. they come out like slightly airy (in a good way!) little potatoes!
I have never eaten turnips but I loved reading about them!
I saw a recipe once for turnip fries and it looked dang good!
I love roasting turnips. They remind me of red potatoes without the carbs!
Ellen Barret is too one of my favorites.
Hey Maggie,
Never thought in a million years that I’d be saying I love turnips, but I do! So there you have it! Love them plain, steamed. They were one of the first few veggies I bought at the Portland (Maine) Farmers’ Market this year. White, about the size of small apples, the tops (greens) were intact. The greens can be steamed and eaten as well. I like mine mixed with other greens like kale.
P.S. Love the bowl of kubocha squash photo on the top right, it’s so you!
Honestly turnips used to gross me out. But it was only by the look of them. We had a church meal not too long ago and I was only wanting to eat veggies that night, so I tried some for the first time and I have to say that they were actually pretty good!
I make fries, hash, pancakes, everything! I did a few cool things with them on my blog.
I also LOVE daikon which is similar to turnips.
When I was doing the low-carb thing, I ate “turnip fries.” You cut them into fries, toss with olive oil and chili powder, then bake. Yum-o. Not sure why I stopped eating them, because they’d be OK on Weight Watchers, too.
I’ve never seen PINK turnips before! That a nice way to add color to any dish. I tried turnip once a long time ago, but I don’t think it was prepared well because I didn’t like it. I’ll have to try your recipe because it looks delicious! Especially over kale, my favorite veggie 🙂
I’ve eaten turnips but never done anything them at home, new challenge!
I’m not sure I like turnips cooked…it’s different from potato…not as starchy and nice! But they are so refreshing raw!
I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever eaten a turnip and I don’t think I have! I’ve had a rutabega…is that similar??
I like to roast most of my veggies 😀