This week I continued my experimentation with turnips. My only previous exposure to them in the past has been those little white cubes in cans of turnip greens. I'd never prepared them myself and had no idea what to do with them at first. As usual, I relied on Google to provide me with ideas. The majority of recipes from restaurants involved sauteing them. I decided to go that route with my first batch and it was a success. The chopped roots browned up nicely with a succulence reminiscent of water chestnuts.
For this week's adventure with turnips, I threw them in with my typical "whatever's available" pasta sauce:
two large beefsteak tomatoes (chopped)
one large turnip (peeled and chopped)
half a vidalia onion (sliced)
two garlic cloves (ground)
one quarter lemon (squeezed)
Italian spice mix, salt and pepper, and Olive oil
All foods prepped, I started with the olive oil, spices, and garlic simmering on med-low heat. Once the garlic started to brown, I tossed in everything else and let it cook over the same heat for about 20 minutes covered.Stirring occasionally, it eventually looked like this and was ready to cover some pasta.
The result was a starch-heavy dinner that tasted great, and was packed with nutrients. This experiment worked out, and I'll be working on it in the future. Turnips are proving to be very versatile, and more than those mushy white cubes in that green stuff.
