Produce Spotlight: Garlic
Perhaps you turn up your nose at turnips?
This root vegetable is in season right now, and all throughout the winter months (don’t worry, the end is near!) Like other cruciferous veggies, turnips are potent cancer fighters, like cabbage.
Often mistaken for rutabagas (a similar vegetable to turnips, rutabagas are a cross between turnips & kale), turnips are an excellent alternative starch to potatoes as they contain only 1/3rd of the calories. It’s simple to replace half of your potatoes for turnips, and undetectable to the picky eater once mashed.
Turnips are high on vitamin C, folic acid (B9), pantothenic acid (B5) and a variety of minerals. Turnip greens have much more nutrition value than the root part of the vegetable. They are high in vitamins A, C, E (all antioxidants!) B6 & B9 as well as calcium, copper, manganese & fiber.
In addition to teaming up well in mashed potatoes (or mashed yams!), turnips can also be featured as a humble sidekick to other root vegetables like in this delicious soup from Eating Well:
Hopefully we wont be having many more chilly, soup eating days in our near future!
Moroccan Vegetable Soup (Chorba)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 pound beef stew meat, (such as chuck) or lamb stew meat (shoulder or leg), trimmed and cut into
- 1/2-inch cubes
- 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, or water
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 small turnips, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, leaves included, thinly sliced
- Pinch of saffron threads, (see Ingredient Note)
- 12 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus more leaves for garnish
- 8 sprigs fresh cilantro, plus more leaves for garnish
- 1 large zucchini, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 ounces angel hair pasta, (capellini), broken into small pieces (about 1/2 cup), or orzo, preferably
- whole-wheat
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and turmeric; stir to coat. Add meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add broth (or water), tomatoes and their juice, turnips, carrots, celery and saffron. Tie parsley and cilantro sprigs together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the meat is tender, 45 to 50 minutes.
Stir in zucchini and cook, covered, until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook until soft, 4 to 10 minutes, depending on the type of pasta. Discard the parsley and cilantro sprigs. Season with salt (start with 1 teaspoon if you’re using beef broth; add more if you’re using water) and pepper. Serve sprinkled with parsley and/or cilantro leaves, if desired.
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