4 Ways to Cook with Your BDA Turnips

Sometimes we get pictures of our veggies from customers along with questions like, “What is this, and how the heck do I cook it?” In response, we shared some of our most baffling items (turnips, chard, and radishes) and asked our followers which they wanted to see featured.

While it was an intense competition, with chard putting up a solid fight, turnips came out on top.

BDA organic turnips (hakurei) at our farm in Uniontown, Alabama.

Turnips, though also a root vegetable like carrots and potatoes, are an overlooked and underutilized vegetable. The turnip shares a genus with other hearty winter vegetables and leafy greens. While commonly we see the turnip presented as only the root, the entire plant can be used – greens and all.

At BDA, we grow the hakurei variety of turnips, also known as Japanese turnips, that are smaller, lighter in color, and sweeter than your traditional turnip.

This unexpected sweetness and full-veggie usability makes it incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

Below we’ve listed 4 ways that you can use the turnips you receive in your weekly BDA produce box!

1. Roast your turnip roots

A no-fail solution for assorted vegetables, roasting your turnips will go great by themselves, in a vegetable medley, or thrown over a salad.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Wash and dry your turnips
Cut off the greens just above the root, leaving a little bit of green left. (You can wrap the greens in a paper towel and store in the fridge)
Cut the turnip roots to your desired size. (Halved, quartered, cubed)
Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place on a baking sheet
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, making sure to toss at ~ minute 7

Try tossing the roasted turnips onto a bed of our BDA mixed greens with goat cheese, walnuts, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

You can also step-up your flavors by adding honey for added sweetness or soy sauce for more salt.

2. Throw the turnips into a hearty soup

As a root vegetable, turnips will add good density and heartiness to any vegetable soup. If you’re making a minestrone or other vegetable soup, add in your turnip roots when you’re adding in other dense vegetables, like potatoes.

You can also throw in the greens when you start the soup alongside your onion, carrots, and celery to bring that flavor into your entire broth.

3. Use turnips instead of potatoes as a side item with BDA fried eggs

While it’s hard to beat a side of fried potatoes for a filling breakfast, try substituting turnips for a sweeter taste on a breakfast staple.

Melt butter down on the stove, set to medium or medium low.
Add diced onions (see our spring onions!) and cook until the onions become translucent. At this point, throw in your diced turnips and season with salt, pepper, and other preferred spices.
Let cook, tossing every couple of minutes, until the turnips are golden brown and crispy.
Top with our fried eggs.

4. Make turnip fritters

Because everything tastes good fried, you can use your little turnips to make delicious pan-fried fritters.

Bring a pot of water to boil
Cut the turnip roots off at the stem. Rinse, and dry.
Place the turnips into boiling water and let cook until a knife easily pierces the surface (like a potato).
Once ready, drain and pat dry as needed.
On a cutting board, flatten the turnips into disks. You can use a potato masher or any larger flat object.
Season the turnip disks as you like – salt and pepper is always delicious, or you could try using a creole seasoning or an Italian spice blend.
Prep your coating station. Set aside:
- An egg wash (egg + a dash of milk mixed) in one bowl
- A breading mix (bread crumbs, flour, seasoning, and/or fish fry) in another bowl
Put a pan on the stove and cover lightly the bottom with olive oil. Keep heat at a medium low to avoid the oil getting too hot for later batches.
Gently coat your fritters with the egg wash and then coat in the breading mix.
Fry these in the oil until golden brown.
Top with cheese or a sauce of your choice!