Week 4--Turnips

I'm a big fan of Southern-style greens, which means I had turnip greens before I ever had turnips.  I love the bitterness of the greens.  In my opinion, nothing pairs tri-tip or ribs better than bitter greens.  The turnip, which is the bulb at the bottom, is a root vegetable white in color with a bit of a bite, almost like a radish.  It gets milder with cooking but if you try to eat it raw you may be in for a pucker face as its flavor can be very pungent.  Turnip roots are high in Vitamin C, but the green leaves are also a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin K, calcium, and lutein.  So be sure and use those greens, do not discard them!

This week I chose turnips because they were everywhere present at the farmers market.  I of course got mine at J&M Organics for a mere $2 a bunch!  And I get to use both the bulbs in my recipe and the greens in a supplementary recipe I will include in the end.  I also picked up some bok choy, carrots, brussel sprouts, and kale while I was there.  All for about $10.

Today's recipe was inspired by one I found in a magazine called "Quick Roast Chicken and Root Vegetables"    


Here is what you will need:

Ingredients


1 bunch of turnips, greens removed, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1lb bok choy
4 to 5 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1lb brussel sprouts, hard leaves removed and cut in half
2TB extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 to 5 large cloves of garlic
salt
fresh pepper
paprika
1/2 cup flour, divided (I used gluten-free sorghum flour but any flour will do)
1 cup chicken broth
1 whole chicken, skinned, and cut into pieces (I used Trader Joe's organic, free range whole chicken ~$11)
1 large onion, chopped
1TB Dijon mustard
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry sherry
1tsp butter

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Toss vegetables (except bok choy), 1TB oil, salt, and fresh pepper in dutch oven and roast for approximately 15 minutes

3. Meanwhile, mix together flour, paprika, pepper, and salt in shallow dish.   Season chicken with salt and drench in flour mixture.

4. Heat 1TB oil in large skillet over medium heat and cook chicken until browned on all sides.
5. Remove chicken from pan (do not rinse pan).  Place chicken on top of vegetables in roaster.
6. Add 1tsp butter to pan, 2TB flour and the chopped onion and cook until onion is tender (approximately 5 minutes).  Add garlic and cook an additional minute.

6.  Add Sherry, thyme, and chicken broth.  Simmer for about a minute or until sauce thickens and turn off heat.  Add this mixture to roaster (on top of chicken), cover, and cook for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
7.  In a small bowl mix together the red wine vinegar with the mustard and pour over chicken and vegetables. Stir and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Inspired by these gorgeous greens I made a black-eye pea stew with ground turkey..  In addition to the turnip greens I added some Kale.

And here is the stew