Hakurei Japanese Turnips
Spring is the season for so many delicious vegetables. Especially these wonderful Hakurei Japanese turnips.
For the turnip haters among you, don’t be afraid of these. They don’t have that bitter twang that the purple top turnips can have.
If you shop at a local farmer’s market you’ll be sure to find some there.
How do you cook them?
Make sure to use the greens as well as the turnip roots. The greens can be pretty dirty. Chop the greens off from the root and wash in cool water, checking one leaf at a time, running your finger down the stem to remove any dirt or sand.
I usually peel the turnip root, since the skin can still be slightly bitter and sometimes they have yellowish marks. But the skin of these mild turnips is nothing like purple top turnips, which must be peeled to be tasty. If you don’t mind the flavor in these white turnips, don’t worry about peeling them.
The greens are delicious steamed, sautéed with garlic and lemon, or steamed and mixed with my lemony sesame sauce.
The turnips – I love them simply steamed with a little lemon. But they are also great roasted, grilled, or baked and served with my sweet miso sauce.
I enjoy having the greens and the roots in the same dish – with only a squeeze of lemon and some toasted sesame seeds, my lemony sesame sauce or sweet miso sauce.
They are also nice raw and added to a salad: slice finely, marinate with my all purpose orange marinade and added to a salad.
