This is an amazing vegetable. Being a southern girl I have liked greens for a long time, but I have come to love greens since I started cooking them. If you want an adventure into a wonderful vegetable with so much character, vitamins and fiber - don't over look these not so glamorous tops to not so tasty roots! They may suprise you!
To cook Turnip Greens; (buy a bag - its a lot of greens but that's how they roll)
rinse well in a sink full of water
prepare the stock with 2-3 tablespoons of oil - I use bacon grease because you really don't get that much calories since you are just cooking it in the stock but flavor is awesome
4-6 beef bullion cubes
about a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke (near the Tabasco at the grocery store - a southern cook must have)
about six cups of water
pull greens out of their bath in the sink
place in boiling stock
cook 5-7 minutes
salt and pepper to taste
Once they start cooking, they are like spinach, they shrink a lot...just add them as you can to a large roasting pan...
if you like it spicy add pepper/vinegar or some juice from jarred jalapenos - won't take much
Loaded with vitamin A and C, calcium, iron and 1 cup has 20% of your daily fiber.
Now there's something I've never tried. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteTime for a dumb question... are these greens the tops to actual turnips?? And do you buy them in a bag separate from the turnip roots? You said the roots are not tasty... you mean the turnips?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering because I am eating lower carbs, and found that cut up turnips in a crockpot soup soak up the broth and make a wonderful imitation of a potato, yet without the high carbs.
Are you laughing at these Yankee questions?! LOL!
She who has never cooked turnips greens in her life.
(Loretta)
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No, I do not laugh at "Yankee" questions because I am the crazy woman stopping the hispanic woman in the grocery store and asking her how to make shrimp ceviche. At least you and I speak the same language. Yes, turnip greens are the tops of the root known as a turnip. Like a carrot top. I have not cooked the actual turnip so I really shouldn't have commented but I have heard from several sources that the turnip is very strong in flavor.
ReplyDeleteNow, all that being said, I think it is strange to find the greens of this root cut up and yes, in a huge bag. But I think they are yummy if cooked with the right seasoning.
Now, I will have to try the actual turnip in a soup. If a yankee girl likes it, surely a southern rebel will too! Many folks will dice the turnip itself and cook it with the greens. I am guessing turnip in boiling stock until soft, add greens and cook 5-7 minutes.
Let me know if you try it. A bag here in Arkansas costs about $4 or a little less.
For a "faux potato" effect... I peel a couple, cut them in smaller chunks, and let them perk overnight in the crockpot with whatever soup I'm making... usually something from the chicken broth made from the chicken bones from the previous days roasted chicken. (sometimes I just throw the bones in a bag and freeze them, and when I have two or 3 chicky's worth of bones, it makes a very rich stock).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the turnips soak up the broth and get soft, and really do come close to having a potato, minus the calories and carbs.
I'll be on the lookout for a "bag o' greens" next grocery run. :-)
Loretta
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