Garlic Roasted Turnips

(4 servings)

Turnips, they are foreign to me. To my knowledge my mother never served them to us. I'm not sure if she wasn't familiar with them or if she just didn't care for them. Whenever I saw turnips at the market I just walked past them and headed toward more familiar veggies, like carrots and asparagus.

Well this month turnips are in season in Texas and I thought it was time I gave them a try. They weren't at all what I expected. I was told to peel them and as I did, I was struck by how much their aroma reminded me of radishes and kohlrabi. They also had a wonderful crisp texture.

A friend mentioned they were delicious roasted, and I thought that would be easy enough to try. Well, I'm sold! Turnips are delicious! I will definitely have them again soon.

2 lbs turnips
1 (generous) tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Remove a thin slice of turnip from the top where the leaves were and the very bottom where the root is. Remove the remaining skin with a knife or potato peeler. I was tempted to leave the skin on, but everyone I asked gave me an emphatic, "no!"

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut the turnips into sticks that are about 1/3 of an inch thick. Place into a large bowl.

Drizzle the olive oil over the cut up turnips. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. You might want to ease up on the pepper a tad because the baked turnips appear to accentuate the peppery taste more than usual. Toss until the turnips are evenly coated.

Place the turnips onto a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). I bake everything in a small counter top convection oven and my 13x9 inch baking sheet wasn't large enough for the turnips to lay flat in one even layer. This was fine. Halfway through baking I gave them a good toss.

Bake the turnips for about 40-50 minutes or until they have browned nicely. Give them a good toss about halfway through baking.