Triumphant Turnips

Enlarge Image Image Gallery ‘Amber Globe,’ ‘Purple Top White Globe’ and ‘Golden Ball’ turnips DAVID CAVAGNARO

As a crop that’s fed humanity since prehistoric times, turnips deserve more respect in our modern gardens — and in our kitchens. No other vegetable gives you the choice between supernutritious greens or juicy roots that rival carrots for crunchiness, plus it’s easy to store perfect roots in a cool basement all the way through the first half of winter.

The world seems divided into people who love or hate turnip greens, though many haters change their minds after a few forks full of young, garden-grown turnip greens, which are delicately delicious compared to the hairy, coarse versions sold in bunches at supermarkets. Young greens smaller than your hand are ideal for quick stir fries, and they can stand in for spinach in calzones, casseroles and many other cooked dishes. I like to sauté young turnip greens with garlic, onions and end-of-the-season sweet peppers, then serve the colorful mélange over hot, cheesy polenta. Turnip greens are good for you too — they’re rich in vitamins A and C, as well as folic acid.

Even if you don’t think you will ever like turnip greens, your palate may be pleasantly surprised by the sprightly flavor of a perfectly grown raw salad turnip. Their mild flavor and crunchy texture come through best when the roots are picked just as they reach golf ball size and are enjoyed raw; peeling is optional. You can cut salad turnips into rounds or sticks to dip into salad dressing, hummus, cream cheese or even peanut butter (try it, you’ll like it). And thinly sliced salad turnips are great on sandwiches, or you can cook and pickle them (see “A Tasty Turnip Trio,” below). For a beautiful presentation, braise baby turnips, with a few leaves still attached, in a little canola oil. When the roots begin to brown, sprinkle on a pinch of salt and another of sugar, then turn off the heat. Yum!

Growing Great fall Turnips

In the garden, turnips are an easy, fast cool-weather crop you can grow in the fall and in spring. Any sunny, well-drained spot with average or better soil will do.

Harvesting only two leaves at a time from each plant will not seriously harm turnips’ ability to produce large roots, so it’s no problem to get both greens and plump turnips from the same planting.

Fall is a great time to grow salad turnips — try a red-skinned variety like ‘Scarlet Queen’ (43 days, hybrid), which needs cool soil to bring out its best flavor. In addition to turnips destined for salads, allow several square feet of growing space in your fall garden for turnips that will produce big, dense roots for cooking and storage, in addition to more greens than you can eat. White-fleshed ‘Purple Top White Globe’ (55 days, open pollinated), has a loyal following, or you can try ‘Golden Ball’ (65 days, open pollinated), ‘Amber Globe’ (63 days, open pollinated) or another variety with yellow flesh.