Farm To Table Dinner
Saturday, November 9th
Photo Credit: Thadah Wah
Hakurei or "Tokyo" Turnips are Japanese turnips that are especially crisp, juicy, and tender. Japanese turnips are delicious raw, cooked or pickled. Slice them raw and eat them as a snack with salt, or add them to a salad. Roast them and toss with miso butter; braise them with a touch of butter or stock; make them into a curry; cook them with orechiette and kale; or sauté them with a little honey. Cook the turnip greens and eat them separately or alongside their roots. Turnips greens are especially delicious sautéed with eggs.
STORAGE: If your turnips have the greens on them, cut the greens off the roots and store them separately in a plastic bag in your fridge. Unwashed, the greens should remain fresh for several days. The roots without their greens will last for up to two weeks stored in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge.
RECIPE: Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad (serves 2-4)
When it's damp and cold, there's nothing better than cranking up the oven and roasting a bunch of vegetables. Roast them all at once, dress them while still warm, and make them into a big beautiful dish to serve right away. OR, put them in the fridge to turn into quick meals all week. Change up the veggies, depending on what you have on hand.
Ingredients:
For roasting:
- 1 bunch Hakurei turnips or radishes, trimmed and sliced into halves or quarters
- 1 bunch carrots, trimmed and halved lengthwise or quartered
- a few sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- a fennel bulb or two, cored and sliced into bite-sized rounds (optional)
- olive oil
- salt
- a glug of maple syrup (optional)
For fresh salad: (optional)
- a salad green of your choice
The dressing: (feel free to use your favorite dressing instead)
- 1/4 onion or shallot, thinly sliced
- red wine vinegar
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- olive oil
- a squeeze of lemon
A cooked grain of your choice: (optional)
- brown rice, quinoa, farro, Israeli couscous, croutons made from day old crusty bread
Toasted seeds or nuts: (optional)
- sunflower seeds, pepitas, walnuts, pecans
Additional add-ins:
- a soft-boiled egg, some crumbled goat cheese, roast chicken, re-hydrated golden raisins, chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, cooked lentils or beans
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Keep each type of vegetable separate because they will roast at different paces. Toss each chopped vegetable with a good glug of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Spread out evenly on baking sheet pans and roast until fully tender and beginning to brown around the edges. Check them often, because some veggies will be done before the others are ready.
3. While roasting, make your dressing. Soak the onion in vinegar with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Add the mustard and mix it in. Add a good long glug of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and mix together. Taste for salt and adjust acid. Toast any nuts or seeds, if using.
4. When the vegetables are brown, toss them with dressing while they're still warm. Separately, toss salad greens (if using) with dressing. If using a cooked grain or bean, you can also toss it with some dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Spread out the grain or beans over the bottom of a large platter, top with dressed salad greens, and finally, the dressed roasted vegetables. Garnish with toasted seeds or nuts or herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature. At the table, toss all together before serving.
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