Turnip Homefries and Beet/Turnip Greens

Turnips are a food I've only heard my mother, aunt, and grandmother talk about eating. I always thought I just wouldn't like turnips if I ever had the chance to eat them. So I must say I was not the least bit excited when turnips showed up in our CSA.  They were beautifully white but I still was wary of eating them.

All the recipes we looked up treated turnips just like potatoes. Most recipes involved either mashed turnips, or turnips cooked in a similar fashion to potatoes au gratin. Joe knows how much I love home fries, so he thought turnips would work well prepared that way. One morning this weekend he cooked brunch for us; an omelet, sauteed greens, and turnip home fries.

 Sauteed Beet/Turnip Greens
 2 pieces organic bacon
 beet greens
 turnip greens
 1 tsp. sugar

Cook the bacon in a saute pan to render the fat. While the bacon cooks, clean the greens well and tear in to small pieces. Put the bacon to the side. Wilt the greens in the fat for about 5-7 minutes. When finished, mix in the sugar and diced cooked bacon.

Turnip Home Fries
turnips (cleaned and chopped in to cubes)
butter
small onion (chopped)
minced garlic
dried rosemary

Boil the turnips until tender, then drain. Heat butter in a saute pan. Add the onion and garlic until the onion is softened. Saute the turnips with the onion and garlic until the turnips are browned. Add about 1 tsp of dried rosemary.

Well I have to admit, I was wrong about turnips. The home fries were the star of the brunch. They had a wonderful flavor; like a mix of a potato and a radish or parsnip. The greens were the best I've had so far from the CSA. The beet greens had a sweeter flavor and I love anything with bacon in it. My favorite part of Joe's brunch was that each vegetable was prepared in a way to highlight, not hide, its true flavor. With so many of the turnip recipes we looked at, it seemed that people were trying to mask the turnip flavor. The home fries definitely tasted like turnip. Turnips are no longer just an older person food.