December 05, 2024 - This Week's Box Contents Featuring Scarlet Turnips

 

What's In The Box

Sweet Scarlet Turnips: So as not to confuse sweet scarlet turnips with red daikon radishes, please note that scarlet turnips are more round in shape and have a pink skin. When you cut them open, you’ll find mostly white flesh with some pink streaks. We think scarlet turnips are mild, sweet, and well-balanced in flavor. They may be eaten raw, but given they are a storage turnip, they are most often eaten cooked. Add them to soups, stews, gratins and even curry dishes.

Red Daikon Radish: We like this daikon radish variety because of its compact size, gorgeous exterior and the mild, slightly sweet, and not bitter at all flesh! Enjoy thinly sliced or shredded daikon as a condiment with meals, add it to stir-fry, or pickle it! Note, the red daikon radishes are long and slender in shape.

Red Onions: We are coming to the end of our storage onions and in just two short months from now we’ll be preparing to plant next year’s onion crop! Enjoy these red onions thinly sliced on sandwiches, mixed in with shredded cabbage for a fresh slaw, or add them to a jar of your own pickled carrots, daikon, or turnips!

Italian Garlic: Infuse your winter meals with the flavor of garlic, adding a bit of minced garlic to the base of your dishes, infusing the garlic flavor into soups and stews, or use it in its raw form to make a batch of kale pesto!

Mursaki Japanese Sweet Potatoes: This week we are sending white-fleshed Japanese sweet potatoes. The skin on this variety is pinkish purple, but the flesh is white when raw and turns to more of a creamy-yellow color when cooked. The flesh is moist, sweet and flavorful, good simply baked and served with salt, pepper and butter!

 

Orange Carrots: Carrots have been a staple vegetable for us throughout the season, and we’re grateful they are storing well and available to sustain us through the winter months. They are also very versatile in their uses, so if you reach a point where you just don’t know what to do with them, refer to our recipe inspiration below for some different and perhaps a bit unconventional ways to prepare carrots!

Purple Majesty or Peter Wilcox Potatoes: This week you will receive one of these two potato varieties. Purple majesty potatoes have a dark purple skin, so dark they may look black instead of purple. The flesh is also a purple, but a bit lighter in color and more vibrant. Peter Wilcox potatoes also have a purple skin, although a little lighter in color and the flesh is gold. Both varieties are waxy types, best suited for roasting, pan-frying, frying, or boiling.

 

Autumn Frost or Butternut Squash: This week we’re packing either Autumn Frost or Butternut squash for you, both of which may be used interchangeably! Store your squash in a cool location, above 55°F. If you notice some wrinkling on the skin, it’s likely just a sign of dehydration. The flesh inside is still good, but you should use it sooner than later!

Jester Squash or Black Futsu Pumpkin: This will be our final delivery for these two unique varieties. The jester squash is characterized by its oblong shape, ridges on its exterior and beautiful green and orange markings on a cream background. Black Futsu pumpkins are shaped like a pumpkin and have a brown skin. The flesh is lean, sweet, and delicious!

Green Curly Kale Tops: This will be the final delivery of greens, and possibly the best tasting kale of the year as it has been sweetened by multiple frosts! We harvested the tops off the kale plants last week before the temperatures dropped. Strip the leaves off the ribs and use them to make baked kale chips; chop it and add to soups, stews, curry dishes; or turn it into kale pesto!

Green Savoy Cabbage: With the warm fall we had, our green savoy cabbage came in a few weeks ahead of schedule. We crossed our fingers and hoped they would store well for the next nine weeks or so because we wanted them for your December shares! Well, here we are, and the cabbages stored pretty well! Now we’re turning the storage responsibilities over to you! Keep your cabbage loosely wrapped in plastic or a moist cloth bag and in the refrigerator. If you are only using a portion of the head at one time, cover the cut side, and store it in the refrigerator.

Recipe Suggestions & Inspiration For This Week’s Box Contents

Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips

Persian Turnip Soup

Apple Turnip Quiche

Cornish Pasties (Hand Pies)

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping

Herb Roasted Sweet Potato and Turnip Skillet

One-Pot Carrot Curry

Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing

Creamy Carrot Pasta Sauce

Chickpea & Carrot “Meatballs”

Carrot Cake Coffee Cake

Carrot Halwa, Indian Carrot Pudding

Smoked Carrot “Lox”

Kale Pesto

How To Make Kale Chips

Black Bean & Kale Quesadillas

Roasted Savoy Cabbage

Winter Slaw

Winter Cabbage Salad with Apples & Cranberries

Butternut Squash Galette with Goat Cheese & Sage

Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Squash

Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

Homemade Crispy Purple Potato Chips

Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Miso Maple Tahini

Quick & Easy Pickled Daikon Radish

Vegetable Feature: Scarlet Turnips

Storage turnips more dense and have a stronger flavor than the tender, mild baby white salad turnips we grow in the spring and early fall. We grow two different colors of storage turnips including the classic and familiar purple top turnips and the stunning bright pink sweet scarlet turnips. Purple top turnips have the strongest turnip flavor while sweet scarlet turnips are more mild. 

Preparation & Usage: Turnips are part of the Brassica family and, like many other vegetables in this family, it’s important not to overcook them thereby releasing those strong sulfur compounds that can be strong and unpleasant. Turnips are seldom a featured vegetable in a meal, rather they play their greatest role by hanging out in the shadows of your culinary creations. If you’re still learning how to use and appreciate turnips, use them in recipes where they are combined with other ingredients as opposed to being cooked on their own. Turnips pair well with apples, cheese, cider, cream, garlic, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, and lemon as well as other root vegetables, bacon, ham and roast beef. They make a delicious addition to winter soups, stews, root vegetable gratins, root mash and pot pies. Turnips are also a great vegetable to use in a winter stir-fry, or pickle them and use them as a condiment for sandwiches or alongside rich meats, etc.

Storage Tips: Turnips have the ability to store for months (literally!) in cold storage. They should be stored in a plastic bag or container in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. I seldom peel turnips, however if you find their flavor to be more pungent than your liking, peeling may help decrease some of the characteristic turnip bite. Also, with extended time in storage you may find some turnips may develop some browning due to oxidation or some surface scarring, which is sometimes a reason to peel the turnip. The defect is often only on the surface and the rest of the turnip is totally usable. If your turnips start to dehydrate a little bit in storage, either re-hydrate them in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator or cut them up and put them in a stew or soup.

Health & Nutrition: Turnips have great nutritional benefits. They are high in vitamin C and fiber and are packed with many more nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, folic acid and magnesium, essential for all-round development of the human body. They are low in calories making them a great substitute for potatoes or other high carb foods.

Indian Root Vegetable Curry 

Yield:  4 servings

I don’t know that this recipe qualifies as authentic Indian cuisine.  Perhaps it is more appropriate to say it is Indian-Inspired.  The author of this recipe describes this dish as “hearty and humble but over-the-top with flavor.”  While it calls for carrots and turnips, it may easily be adapted to include other root vegetables throughout the winter. The warm spices are also great immune boosters along with the ginger and garlic to help keep you strong and health throughout the winter!  You may also choose to build upon the basic recipe by adding in beans or legumes such as chickpeas, or if you eat meat you may choose to add chicken, fish or pork to the dish.

Photo from www.fromachefskitchen.com

2 Tbsp oil

1 medium onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1 Tbsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 cups vegetable broth

1 can (15-ounce) coconut milk

3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 medium turnips, cubed

1 bunch turnip greens or kale, coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cooked Brown Basmati Rice, for serving

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium and cook 4-5 minutes or until beginning to soften.  Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander and cayenne.  Stir briefly (approximately 30 seconds) or until fragrant.
2. Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, carrots, and turnips. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add the greens in handfuls if necessary, allowing each to wilt and simmer until tender. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
4. Serve with hot rice. 

Recipe sourced from www.fromachefskitchen.com/indian-root-vegetable-curry.

November 30, 2017 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Storage Turnips

Cooking With The Box

We are coming up on the end of our delivery season, just two more boxes (including this week's box) before our winter break.  These last two boxes are packed full of wonderful winter vegetables, most of which will store just fine, so don’t feel pressured to eat through your box within the next two weeks. 

This week’s featured newsletter recipe, Apple & Turnip Quiche (see below), comes to us from The Birchwood Café in Minneapolis.  After discovering this recipe a year ago, it quickly became a winter favorite and I’ve made it multiple times.  It’s a great item to serve for breakfast, brunch or dinner.  It reheats very well.  It makes a great appetizer or light dinner option for holiday gatherings.  If you like quiche, you’ll like this recipe and it’s a great way to use turnips.

We’re pleased to have enough Brussels sprouts to include them in this week’s box.  Just before Thanksgiving Andrea Bemis posted this recipe for Charred Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Dates.  Make this one while dates are readily available and enjoy the sweet, salty, smoky combo of this dish.  This would be a good side dish to serve with the Apple & Turnip Quiche.

Lets talk breakfast for a moment.  Winter is a pretty easy time to incorporate vegetables into breakfast.  A batch of Sweet Potato Morning Glory Muffins  is on my list for this week.  I’m also going to try Carrot Cake Oatmeal with Pecans.  An extra dose of beta carotene from these vegetables has got to equate to an awesome start to the day!

 There is quite a pile of sweet potatoes in this week’s box.  Definitely enough to make the muffins and have plenty remaining to make a batch of Chicken, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew.  Make a batch of cornbread or some rice to serve alongside and you have a simple dinner, likely with leftovers.  I also want to try this recipe for a Winter Panzanella with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Panzanella is typically made with tomatoes in the summer, but this winter version includes winter squash, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  This salad would be great served with roasted chicken or grilled pork tenderloin.

While you have the oven on to make the Sweet Potato Morning Glory Muffins, you might as well make some Carrot Oatmeal Cookies.  We featured this in our newsletter last year.  These cookies are nice to have on hand for a sweet treat, but can also make a nice holiday cookie.  Their sweetness comes from the carrots and some maple syrup, so they are a nice alternative to some of the overly sweet Christmas cookies.

I love the versatility of carrots.  You can eat them in oatmeal for breakfast, have an afternoon snack with carrots in the form of a cookie, and still have enough remaining to make Baked Egg Rolls!  This recipe makes great use of this week’s cabbage and carrots.  It also calls for water chestnuts, but instead of using those canned ones just substitute diced sunchokes!  Sunchokes have the same crispy, crunchy texture as water chestnuts, making them a great stand in.  The author of this recipe also tells you how to freeze and reheat these eggrolls.  If you’re up to it, make a double batch so you can keep them in the freezer for one of those nights when you get home late and need a quick something to become dinner on the fly. 

After you’ve made the Apple & Turnip Quiche, there should still be some turnips remaining.  I’m going to make one of my favorite fall/winter recipes that sounds complicated by the name, but really is a nice, simple one-pan creation.  Pan Seared Pork Chops with Turnips, Apples & Cider Cream Sauce is delicious and makes a great dinner.  

Chili & Lime Sunchoke Salsa
served with Salmon!

With this week’s bag of beets, I am going to make these Beet Patties with Tzatziki.  While tzatziki usually contains cucumbers, make it with small diced beauty heart radishes instead!  Serve these patties with Chili-Roasted Sunchokes or skip the tzatziki entirely and serve them with Chili & Lime Sunchoke Salsa.  Both recipes were featured in previous newsletters. 

Most of this week’s beauty heart radishes are going towards making this beautiful Radish Salad with Orange & Goat Cheese. You can use any kind of citrus to make this salad, so if you don’t have oranges but have grapefruit (in this week’s fruit share), use those instead!  Pair this colorful salad with A Pizza in the Roman Way for a simple, yet satisfying meal.  This pizza recipe was featured in our newsletter earlier this year.  It’s very simple and is basically pizza dough covered with delicious caramelized onions! 

I came across this recipe for Onion-Beer Dip, an Edible Madison featured recipe for this fall.  They recommend serving it with vegetable chips, so why not use this week’s celeriac to make these Celeriac Chips to eat with this dip!  Eat it as a snack or take it to a holiday party for a different take on the traditional “chips & dip.” 

I told you there were a lot of vegetables in this week’s box!  What shall we do with those stunning Festival Squash?  This week the NY Times featured Melissa Clark’s recipe for Sweet & Spicy Roasted Tofu and Squash.  Melissa recommends serving it with rice, but it can stand alone for a vegetarian dinner option as well.

I think that just about brings us to the bottom of this week’s box.  I’ll see you back here next week for our final Cooking With the Box for the season! 

Vegetable Feature: Storage Turnips

Scarlet Turnips

Gold turnips

Nature has a way of giving us what we need in its appropriate season.  As we move into the winter months here in the Midwest we no longer have the luxury of eating vegetables freshly harvested from the field.  Rather, for those who choose to embrace a seasonal, local way of eating, we turn to root crops and other vegetables that will store well through the winter months.  Feel free to take your time eating through the last two boxes of the season.  There’s no rush….most items will store well for several weeks if not months.  This week we’re going to turn our attention to the humble storage turnip. 

Storage turnips are much different from the tender, mild baby white salad turnips we grow in the spring and early fall.  Storage turnips are denser, have a stronger flavor and will keep for months in cold storage.  We grow three different colors of storage turnips including the classic and familiar purple top turnips, golden turnips (in your box this week), and sweet scarlet turnips. Purple top turnips have the strongest turnip flavor while golden and sweet scarlet turnips are more mild.  Golden & sweet scarlet turnips are our two preferred varieties, which is why we’ve chosen them for your last two boxes of the season!

Turnips are sometimes a challenging vegetable for CSA members to embrace.  I’ve heard longtime members say “I can conquer everything in the box, but those late season turnips are a challenge for me!”  Perhaps you have memories of strong-flavored, overcooked, unpleasant turnips lingering in your mind or just find the unfamiliarity of a turnip intimidating.  I hope you’ll approach turnips with an open mind this year as they have a lot of great qualities and a wide variety of uses.  If you’re still learning how to use and appreciate turnips, use them in recipes where they are combined with other ingredients as opposed to being cooked on their own. 

Turnips are often paired with bacon, ham, apples, cheese, cider, cream, garlic, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, and lemon as well as other root vegetables.  They make a delicious addition to winter soups, stews, and pot pies.  They may be used in root vegetable gratins, winter stir-fries, fried rice, etc.  While turnips may seldom be the star ingredient, they provide more of a background flavor that, if missing, will leave your eater wondering what’s different!  This week’s recipe for Apple & Turnip Quiche is excellent and I encourage you to try it.  It’s a well-balanced dish where the richness of the eggs and dairy along with the sweetness of the apples balance the turnip flavor.  As with all vegetables in the brassicas family, heed my warning to not overcook them!  The sulfur compounds in turnips and other brassicas can be very overpowering if you overcook them, which is why some people may have bad memories of turnips!

Turnips should be stored in a plastic bag or container in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.  I seldom peel turnips, however if you find their flavor to be more pungent than your liking, peeling may help decrease some of the characteristic turnip bite.  Also, with extended time in storage you may find some turnips may develop some browning due to oxidation or some surface scarring, which is sometimes a reason to peel the turnip.  The defect is often only on the surface and the rest of the turnip is totally usable.  If your turnips start to dehydrate a little bit in storage, either rehydrate them in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator or cut them up and put them in a stew or soup.

We hope you’ll choose to embrace turnips this year and try some new and different ways to prepare them.  In addition to this week’s newsletter recipe, there are several more delicious and creative turnip recipes on our website including Pan Seared Pork Chops with Turnips, Apples & Cider Cream Sauce and Roasted Turnip Ganoush.  

Apple Turnip Quiche

Yield:  6 to 8 servings

“Sweet, tart apple makes a nice foil to turnip’s sharper edge in this wintery quiche.  Sometimes we use celery root instead of turnip, and rutabaga works nicely as well.”

Basic Pastry Crust

1 ⅓ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 oz cold cream cheese, cut into pieces

2 to 3 Tbsp ice water

Quiche Filling

1 ½ cups small diced apple (peeled & cored)

2 cups small diced turnip

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

5 large eggs

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ cups whole milk

¼ tsp salt

⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1. First, prepare the pastry crust.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar.  Cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture to make coarse crumbs.  Stir in just enough ice water to bring the mixture together.  Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in parchment paper, and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before rolling it out. (Note:  This step may be done a day or two in advance.)
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Roll out the pastry dough and fit it into a deep 9-inch pie pan.  Line the crust with parchment paper, and weight it with pie weights or dried beans to keep the crust from forming an air bubble.  Parbake the crust for about 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and set the crust aside.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the apples and turnips with the oil and spread them out on a baking sheet.  Roast, shaking the pan occasionally, until the apples are soften and the turnips just begin to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Set the apples and turnips aside.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, salt, pepper, and thyme, and stir in ½ cup of the cheese.  Stir in the apples and turnips.  Place the prebaked crust on a baking sheet and carefully pour the filling into the crust.  Top with the remaining ½ cup of cheese.  Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven.  Bake the quiche until the filling is just set but still moist, about 40 minutes.  The quiche should jiggle a little in the middle.  Let the quiche cool on a rack before cutting it.  Serve at room temperature.

Chef Andrea’s Notes:  This is my favorite recipe in The Birchwood Café Cookbook by Tracy Singleton and Marshall Paulsen.  This recipe represents what The Birchwood Café in Minneapolis, MN does best---cook seasonally with what’s available at that time in the Midwest.  In the intro to this recipe they also recommend making this recipe with celeriac or rutabaga in place of turnip.

This has become one of my staple winter recipes.  Sometimes I make it as written, but I’ve also prepared it with a few of my own adaptations.

• Add crumbled cooked bacon to the egg and milk mixture. 
• Layer 8 ounces of browned ground pork in the bottom of the pastry crust before pouring the filling on top. 
• In place of Gruyere cheese I’ve used Gouda, cheddar, or a combination of one of these mixed with some smoked cheddar.  

Vegetable Feature: The Many Colors of Storage Turnips

By Laurel Blomquist

Left: Purple Top Turnip / Right: Sweet Scarlet Turnip

     At Harmony Valley Farm, we grow several different varieties of storage turnips: gold, sweet scarlet and the more common purple top. Each can add a splash of color to your seasonal store of root vegetables this winter.
     Turnips have been cultivated for 4,000 years and probably originated in Middle or East Asia. There is evidence that they were grown for their seeds in India as early as the 15th century BC, and records exist of their cultivation in ancient Greece and Rome. They have served as an abundant winter crop for peasants when no other food was available, and also used as fodder for livestock during the long winter, when hay was scarce. Turnips are actually swollen stems fused with the root, and not just a root, as is commonly thought. The part that we eat is where the plant stores its energy that it would need to later produce seeds, if left to complete the full life cycle.
     Gold turnips can be traced to early 19th century Scotland, and were first patented in the United States in 1855 as “Robert’s Gold Ball.” The Scarlet turnip was introduced to the US in the 1890s by William Henry Maule as an improvement on a variety that originated in India. Purple Top turnips were introduced from France in 1852. The part that sits atop the soil line turns purple as it is exposed to sunlight.
      Storage turnips are dense and crisp with a sometimes spicy and pungent flavor when eaten raw. When they are cooked the flavor mellows and is mild and actually sweet. Gold and sweet scarlet turnips are our favorite turnips to eat as they are more mild than the traditional purple top turnip, which is the variety people are most often familiar with. Turnips harvested later in the fall after a few chilly nights are generally sweeter and have a more balanced flavor than those that are grown and harvested when it is warm or hot.

     Turnips are a very versatile root vegetable and may be eaten raw or cooked, although most often they are cooked. They can be stir-fried, steamed, boiled, braised, glazed, roasted or pickled. They also add a nice background flavor to soups, stews and braised meats. Storage turnips differ from the baby white salad turnips you received earlier in the season. They are meant for long storage and will keep for months if you store them in a cold, moist environment. Keep them in your refrigerator in a plastic bag. Sometimes when they are stored for longer periods of time they will start to get soft from moisture loss, but will firm up again when placed in a bowl of cold water. You can also use softer turnips in soups and you’ll never know the difference!
     Turnips are high in Vitamin C, minerals and dietary fiber, and are also low in calories. As a member of the brassica family, they contain cancer-fighting phytonutrients and antioxidants, an nice benefit to add to a winter diet. So enjoy your turnips and bring some color into your life during the cold, white winter.

Moroccan Turnip and Chickpea Braise

HVF Sweet Scarlet Turnip Harvest

Yield: 4 Servings

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut crosswise into ½-inch thick half-moons
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 (14-15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large, deep saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste, turnips, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper and stir well. Add the chickpeas and broth, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
3. Stir in the pepper and cilantro. Serve hot.

Author’s Note:“Serve this wintry braise over rice or couscous or alongside a simple main dish, like roasted chicken thighs... If you like a saucy braise, serve the dish as soon as it is ready. The turnips will absorb the liquid as the dish cools.”

Recipe borrowed from Laura B. Russell’s book 

Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables.

Turnip "Risotto"

This recipe for Turnip “Risotto” was shared with us recently by a CSA member named Kristin.  If you are skeptical about cooking with turnips, consider what Kristin had to say: “I’m just writing to share a fantastic turnip recipe that we discovered. I’ve always had a hard time with turnips, never really finding a recipe that made them palatable to me (excluding salad turnips - those are delicious just as they are!). Then I came across this recipe, and it changed my whole world view on turnips.  We just tried it again last night with the beauty heart radishes that were languishing in our fridge, and it was delicious with those, too. Just sharing in case you are ever on the look out for a recipe to serve as a “turnip ambassador”.

Yield: 4 Servings

Photo Borrowed from seriouseats.com

6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, cut into ⅛ inch dice
1 ½ pounds turnips, cut into ⅛ inch dice
2 cup hot chicken stock
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Warm the chicken stock in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.
2. Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and turn the heat to medium. Toss in the onion and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the turnips and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle in some of the hot chicken stock and cook until absorbed. Continue until all of the stock has been added, about 10 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.  Add the butter and grated cheese stir occasionally for a minute. Remove from the heat, garnish with parsley, and serve.

This recipe was featured on seriouseats.com, 

but Mario Batali is the original chef who created this recipe.

Vegetable Feature: Storage Turnips

by Sarah Janes Ugoretz

Scarlet Turnips in the field

Let’s face it—“exciting” isn’t an adjective that people typically use when they talk about turnips. Quite honestly, the way in which turnips are most often prepared—boiled and mashed—leaves a bit to be desired.  Like Brussels sprouts, overcooking them leaves you with a bitter, off-putting flavor. Recognizing this for the tragedy it is, we at Harmony Valley Farm want to set you and your turnips up for success during this winter season.

Turnips are a highly versatile culinary ingredient and an important part of a Midwestern seasonal diet. Storage turnips are hearty vegetables that are in it for the long haul. Place them in a plastic bag and they’ll hang out in your refrigerator for months on end…thus providing sustenance through the long winter months.  Purple top turnips are the traditional variety of turnips most people are familiar with. They have a distinct turnip flavor with crisp white flesh.  In the last vegetable box you received golden turnips.  These are a bit milder in flavor with gold skin and flesh.  This week we’re delivering our favorite storage turnip, sweet scarlet turnips.  They have a magenta-colored skin with white flesh often flecked with pink.  They are the mildest in turnip flavor and the sweetest.  The flavor of all storage turnips becomes milder, balanced and sweet when they are harvested later in the fall when the temperatures are colder and we’ve had some frost.  If you’ve had early harvested turnips….we can’t blame you for taking a pass on them, but please don’t write them off based on that one experience.

Scarlet & Purple Top Turnips

Turnips can be used in a variety of ways.  They can be included with a mix of root vegetables to make a delicious roasted vegetable medley or root mash.  Sweet scarlet turnips are a beautiful addition to a winter stir-fry or are mild enough to be eaten raw with a simple dip.  Turnips can also be added to soups, stews and winter chowder.  Quite honestly, one of our favorite ways to eat them is often simply sautéed with butter.  If you want to take them a little further, you can also pickle them and ferment them making delicious and interesting condiments for winter fare.  We’ve included a few enticing recipes in this week’s newsletter, but if you’re searching for even more inspiration, check out TheKitchn’s Seasonal Cooking series on “Interesting Things to do with Turnips.”

You may not believe me when I tell you this, but turnips rival kale and Swiss chard in terms of the amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants they offer the eater. So, abandon the boil and mash mentality and start getting better acquainted with your turnips this winter!

Roasted Turnip Ghanoush

Yield:  4 cups
2 lb. turnips
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup water
½ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
⅓ cup roasted tahini
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Smoked paprika, 2-3 pinches*
2 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Pita bread, baked pita chips or crudités for serving
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving*

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.  Place the unpeeled turnips on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until very soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer them to a heatproof bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool. The steam will make them easier to peel.
2. While the turnips are roasting, in a small saucepan, combine the dates and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the dates have softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and process until pureed. Set aside to cool. Measure ⅓ cup puree to use for the recipe. (Cover and refrigerate the remaining puree for another use. It will keep for up to 1 month.)
3. When the turnips are cool enough to handle, peel them and transfer to a food processor. Add the yogurt, date puree, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, a few pinches of paprika, salt and pepper and process until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil & the parsley. Serve immediately with pita bread, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The dip can be prepared up to 1 day in advance, covered and refrigerated.)

Recipe borrowed from Roots by Diane Morgan.  The ingredients marked with an * were Andrea’s adaptations to the original recipe.  This recipe & cookbook were recommended by some longtime CSA members.  I was intrigued by the idea of using turnips to make a dip, and found this to be a quite tasty way to use a turnip!

Turnip and Carrot Kraut with Caraway

Yield:  2 ½ cups
1 lb. turnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 oz. carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp caraway seeds, toasted

1. Using the coarse holes on a box grater or food processor fitted with the coarse shredding disk, grate the turnips and carrots. Transfer the grated vegetables to a large glass container with straight sides, such as a 1 qt. glass measuring cup. Add the salt and toasted caraway seeds and toss to combine thoroughly. Place a glass or china plate on top of the mixture and press down firmly. Place a weight, such as a closed container filled with water, on top of the plate and press down to squeeze out the moisture that is released by the vegetables. Cover the container with a clean kitchen towel and place in a cool, dark place to ferment for 1 week.
2. Every day, press down on the plate to make sure the vegetables are submerged. The salt will continue to draw out moisture from the vegetables during fermentation, and pressing on the plate helps to extract the brine. The vegetables must be completely submerged for fermentation to occur and to avoid mold from developing on the surface. If mold does form, skim it off and discard it. (Don’t worry, the kraut is still safe to eat!)
3. After 1 week, the kraut will be tangy and ready to eat. If left to ferment for 2 weeks or more, it will continue to develop complex flavor. When you think the kraut has fermented long enough, you can store it in a covered container in the refrigerator and enjoy it for several weeks.

Recipe borrowed from Roots by Diane Morgan.