I’m not going to lie. I’ve never been much of a turnip eater. That is until I made roasted Tokyo turnips. Before, I pretty much had a take-it-or-leave attitude towards turnips (mostly leaving it), I believe it’s the slight bitterness. Some people call it spicy or peppery or bite, I say bitter.
That all changed when I found myself with a gift of a bunch of turnips. At a loss as to what to do with them, I went with my favorite cooking method, roasting.
Roasting brings out the sweetness in a vegetable when it caramelizes in the oven and turnips are no different. I like the flavor so much better with the bitterness mellowed out.
Tokyo turnips, a small white variety of turnip, taste like a cross between a turnip and a radish. Incidentally, I’m not much of a radish eater either. If presented with a bunch of radishes, I’ll roast those too.
Since the bunch of diminutive turnips only took up less than half of the baking pan, I also threw in a carrot, a couple of red potatoes and a few garlic cloves to fill in the other half. Sorta like doing a full load of laundry, if I’m turning on the oven, I might as well fill the whole baking pan.
Roasted Tokyo Turnips
Serves 1 to 2
1 bunch of Tokyo turnips
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the greens from the turnips and set aside. Peel the turnips and cut in half or into wedges if they’re large so that all the pieces are around the same size. In a mixing bowl, combine the turnip pieces with enough oil to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread out on a baking pan and roast for 25-30 minutes until tender.
Note: Cooking from root to stem, the tender greens are also edible and delicious in a simple and quick sauté. Just heat up a pan, add a bit of oil, the washed and trimmed turnip greens, salt to taste and cook until the greens are wilted and tender.
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Many veggies are improved by roasting, and I’m with you that turnips are definitely more interesting and tasty as a roasted vegetable. In fact, that’s probably the only way they should ever be eaten. :D
What a perfectly golden-brown exterior! I love roasting radishes, especially when they’re either too bland or too hot to eat raw. It works beautifully to enhance their flavor both ways. :)
I’m not much of a turnip fan either. I want to be because they’re so complex and interesting. I feel like I just haven’t found the perfect way to balance them. So far roasting definitely seems like the best way :)
Roasted turnips look really appealing! Oddly, I think it must be one of the few veggies I don’t think I’ve ever roasted. Pickled, yes (honestly very tasty!) but not roasted. Which is odd, because I have roasted radishes and really enjoyed them. Next time I’m firing up the oven for some root veggies, I’m putting some turnips in too.