Well if you’re reading this, my shameless headline ploy must have worked. In a world of Thanksgiving dinner-in-a-cake, deep-fried turkeys and enough stuffing recipes to fill a thousand (free-range, please) turkeys, I was worried the lowly turnip might be overlooked.
Truthfully, we’re a little fed up with turnips here at the Foodie Tots house. Victims of an apparent turnip glut at our CSA farm, we’ve gotten gobs and gobs of these bland root vegetables week after week. Now, they’re not all bad. They have just one-third the calories of potatoes, and a generous dose of calcium, iron, vitamin C and even folate. (And be sure to eat the greens, too!) They also have that slightly bitter taste that gives them away should you try to pass them off as mashed potatoes. (Though a 75/25 potato/turnip blend might be more palatable.) I’ve found roasting these, with fresh thyme and a hint of honey, to be the best way to sweeten them up a little. Adding bright carrots and earthy mushrooms further helps balance the flavors, while making a simple and attractive side dish for Thanksgiving or just alongside your weekend roast.
Recipe: Honey-Thyme Roasted Turnips, Carrots and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 4-5 medium sized turnips, scrubbed clean
- 4 carrots, peeled
- 1 cup thickly-sliced shitake mushrooms
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- sea salt
- black pepper
Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop turnips and carrots into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, toss turnip and carrot pieces with 1/4 cup olive oil, making sure to evenly coat vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, and pour into a rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan. Tuck thyme in between the vegetables. Roast for 20 minutes, until bottom sides are beginning to brown. Remove from oven, add honey and balsamic vinegar and stir. Sprinkle mushrooms across top, and drizzle with additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a little more sea salt, return to oven and roast an additional 20-25 minutes. Turnips should be easily pierced with a fork when it’s done. Makes 4-6 servings. Enjoy!
{Round out your meal with green beans almondine (instead of that goopy green bean casserole), homemade cider & maple-syrup sweetened cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie (from a real pumpkin).}
Winter Farmers Markets: Looking for turnips? If your CSA’s not delivering (ours ended this week), you can still find turnips at local farmers markets. Many Northern Virginia markets closed for the season at the end of October, but the West End Alexandria market, in Ben Brenman Park (at Cameron Station), is open this Sunday, Nov. 21, from 9am-1pm. (Papa’s Orchard has a great selection of pears and apples for your Thanksgiving baking!) The Falls Church, Arlington/Courthouse, Columbia Pike, Del Ray and Old Town Alexandria markets are open year-round.
I know I’ve been slacking in sharing new meals with you, meatless and otherwise. Would a cute baby picture make it up to you? I mean, can you fault me for not writing with this cute tot around?
11 responses so far ↓
1 Jill // Nov 19, 2010 at 5:41 pm
I’ve been putting turnip chunks in minestrone soup. They blend in well with the rest of the veggies, and I’ve been able to convince N that they’re potatoes! And yes, a pic of sweet E makes up for everything. 🙂
.-= Jill´s last blog post ..The Cheese Course Launches in DC =-.
2 Margaret // Nov 19, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Hi, Colleen! Thank you for this recipe and your blog. I’ve been wondering what to do with turnips this year. I’ll be stopping by Eastern Market and possibly Arlington Courthouse for my produce this weekend. For more Thanksgiving recipes with kids check out this fun video: http://bit.ly/9b6SVn
3 Rhandi // Nov 20, 2010 at 3:03 am
Yum! This sounds fabulous and would go well any fall or winter night. I can’t wait to try! Fun blog- I like your title.
.-= Rhandi´s last blog post ..Request 1- Spanish Night- Paella For Eight =-.
4 Katerina // Nov 20, 2010 at 8:55 am
Vegetables are always a perfect choice for side dish. These are great winter veggies for a festive table.
5 tina // Nov 22, 2010 at 2:40 pm
looks so yummy! might even give this a try and baby is beautiful!
6 Mukazahna // Nov 25, 2010 at 9:38 am
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7 Mariko // Dec 1, 2010 at 2:19 am
I think turnip is lovely– turnip greens are even better.
I had never heard of the turkey cake. What an interesting world we live in.
.-= Mariko´s last blog post ..Foodbuzz 24×24- Issei Nissei Sansei Thanksgiving =-.
8 Melissa // Dec 1, 2010 at 5:13 pm
I just picked up a new variety of turnip (at least to me) from this morning’s market. Can’t remember the name, but it’s long like a carrot, white with a purplish top. I’ll report back as to what I do with it.
New baby is beautiful.
.-= Melissa´s last blog post ..Red Carrots Anti-Fast Food Guidebook Entitled Bad Stuff =-.
9 Colby Agent // Dec 2, 2010 at 8:05 am
Thank you so much, this was very interesting. I was actually born in Spain ( not telling you what year though!) but was moved around europe and lastly settled in England when I was 5. I dont remember much of the few years I was in spain, but the delicious smell of spanish food always seems to get me going or something. Funny, how I dont remember anything except the smells,isn’t it! I actually found a whole website dedicated to spanish recipe, which gave me great delight and thought I ought to share. Anyway, thank you again. I’ll get my husband to add your cast to my rss app…
10 Brown Shoe-SWOT analysis
Twitter: 1
// Nov 24, 2011 at 11:41 am
Helpful information. Fortunate me I discovered your web site by chance, and I’m stunned why this twist of fate didn’t came about in advance! I bookmarked it.
11 101 Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Noble Pig // Nov 23, 2013 at 1:46 pm
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