Are you one of those folks who turns up your nose at turnips? Too bitter. Too earthy. Too pedestrian.
At last there’s a turnip for folks who don’t like turnips. Small, white Tokyo-type turnips are being grown by Atlanta-area farmers and showing up at local farmers markets this fall. They’re called “hareuki” or “haruki” turnips locally, although that name is not widely known elsewhere. Whatever you call them, these turnips are so sweet they’re also known as “salad-type” turnips, juicy enough to be eaten raw in salads, but just as good quickly steamed.
Ray Johnson sells his hareuki turnips at the Marietta Square Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Johnson grows his turnips in Douglasville using organic methods, amending his soil each year with compost and wood chips to make the most fertile soil possible. He began selling at the Marietta market about five years ago and started growing hareuki turnips a year later.
“I’m a firm believer that this white Japanese turnip is much better than the purple-top turnip,” said Johnson.
He orders his seed from California and sows it in beds about five feet wide by 40 feet long.
“I’ve probably got a couple thousand planted out there right now,” he told me in mid-September. The plants take about 45 days to get to a size for harvesting. “I like to pull them when they’re no more than a couple inches in diameter, maybe two or three inches.”
Staggered planting dates will let Johnson harvest his turnips up until frost. They’ll keep in the ground even after frost, but the greens start to look a little ragged, which may discourage some of his customers.
To convince them to give the turnips a try, he cuts them into slivers and serves them up with toothpicks.
“That’s the way I eat them, like an apple. Just wash it off and eat it. That’s the way you get the most nutrients,” Johnson said.
I haven’t seen these turnips sold anywhere except at local farmers markets, although they may be available at some Asian groceries.
Turnips dehydrate quickly so they should be stored, wrapped in plastic, in your refrigerator and then used within a few days. Don’t wash them until you’re ready to serve. Tokyo-type turnips are best served raw or very lightly steamed. No need to peel; a good scrubbing is all they require.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
- 6 p.m. Thursday, September 29. Chef Seth Freedman, Ruby Root Connections. East Atlanta Village Farmer's Market, Atlanta. www.farmeav.com
- 9:30 a.m. Saturday, October 1. Chef Julia Leroy of Leroy's Fried Chicken will be working with hareuki turnips. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
- 10 a.m. Saturday, October 1. Chef Lance Gummere of the Shed. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
- 11:30 a.m. Sunday, October 2. Chef Virginia Willis. Grant Park Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.grantparkmarket.org
For sale
Vegetables and fruit: acorn squash, African squash, arugula, apples, Asian greens, beans, beets, butternut squash, corn, cucumbers, delicata squash, eggplant, field peas, figs, garlic, hareuki and other turnips, herbs, lettuce, mizuna, muscadines, okra, pears, peppers, potatoes, radishes, spaghetti squash, squash blossoms, summer squash and tomatoes
From local reports
Steamed Tokyo Turnips Nested in Their Greens
Hands on: 10 minutes Total time: 15 minutes Serves: 4
2 bunches (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds) small Tokyo-type turnips with greens
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Remove greens from turnips at the neck. Cut off leaves and discard long stems. Reserve leaves. Scrub turnips with a brush under running water. Immerse greens in water, swish around and then lift out. Repeat until no grit remains.
Set turnips on steamer rack over boiling water and arrange greens around them. Cover and steam until turnips are just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Remove cover, remove rack from steamer and allow turnips and greens to dry briefly.
Remove greens and cut into 1-inch sections. Toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange in a wreath or nest on a serving plate. Quarter turnips and toss with remaining oil. Nest in greens. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Adapted from “Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini” by Elizabeth Schneider (William Morrow, $60).
Per serving: 119 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 2 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 7 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 115 milligrams sodium.
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