This week we are featuring young white turnips from Dogwood Farms. White turnips have crisp sweetness so tasty you could eat them like an apple. We would like to show you how to take it one step further and pickle them. This process has been around for centuries as both a method of preserving and adding flavor. Preserving the turnips improves their health benefits. When pickled, turnips (and all fermented or pickled products) pack probiotics, which help populate and rebalance human gut flora, aiding in digestion. Probiotics help with many things from allergies to preventing dental cavities to weight loss. Pickling also enables us to use locally sourced products for longer, creating uses for crops that might otherwise not find a home.
Here we have salad using the turnip tops in addition to the turnips itself. Our chef recommends using a whole grain mustard and apple cider vinaigrette which compliments the heartiness of the turnip greens.
Ingredients: 3 bunches of turnips, peeled and sliced ½-inch thick, saving greens for salad 6 slices of a peeled beet 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 3 cups of water 1/3 cup of coarse ground kosher salt 3 bay leaf 1 TB whole coriander 1 cup white distilled vinegar
Instructions: Cut the turnips into ½-inch slices or into sticks. If you cut them into sticks, make them about the size of French fries. Place 1 slice of beet into each jar (this is what will give the turnips their pink color), then divide the turnips and garlic slices among the jars. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add water, salt, bay leaves, and coriander, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from heat, add the vinegar. Pour the salted brine over the turnips, making sure they are completely covered, top off with water if necessary. Place the lids on the jars and let them sit at room temperature for one hour, then refrigerate. Pickled radish will keep for months when refrigerated.
Dogwood Farms is owned and operated by Jon & Kim Knox. As a Jersey native, Jon knew the Garden State would be a perfect place for a farm offering fresh produce and meats to local families, all grown and raised sustainably on 35 acres at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.
The Duke Farms Farm Market is open on Thursdays from 3 pm to 8 pm.
Farm Market Recipe: Mushroom Soup