So. . . turnips. When I first purchased a CSA share, I learned that I like turnips. As a child, my few encounters involved some kind of canned monstrosity that masqueraded as turnip greens. In my mind, turnips were just as appetizing as pond scum (just as green, just as slimy). They were outright gross. The CSA share changed that. When I found myself the owner of pounds and pounds of turnips each week, I knew I had to learn how to cook them. . . and fast!
So the experiments began. I added the root to mashed potatoes with garlic. I tried baking sliced turnips with beets and other root vegetables with just a little olive oil and salt (not so great). I cooked turnip and potato patties, which were pretty tasty with ketchup. But the greens still gave me pause. This turnip green soup recipe changed my mind about eating greens. And while my entire family was skeptical at first, it’s now a favorite. Follow the link above, or try my much better, fresher version.
Note: The bitterness of turnip greens is still somewhat unpalatable to my sons, so I tone that down a bit with steps 1 and 2 below. However, this removes some of the calcium (the cause of the bitterness) from the greens.
Ingredients:
A big bunch of turnip greens
1/2 lb. soaked and cooked black-eyed peas (or two cans)
1/2 – 1 onion
2 potatoes, diced
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced or diced
1 Tbsp. hot sauce
6 cups chicken stock
Olive oil
1. Wash and de-stem enough fresh turnip greens to fill a stock pot. Cover with water and boil for a few minutes.
2. Pour the contents of the stock pot through a strainer and set greens aside.
3. Sauté onions and sausage in a little olive oil.
4. Add diced potatoes and continue cooking until they get a little color on them.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Let simmer (or cook at a rapid boil, if you’re short on time) until potatoes are done.
Organic, Naturally 