Turnips, Potatoes, and Greens

Every Saturday, we visit Guy Gillespie from On the Vine, LLC at Scottsdale's Pima Crossing Farmer's Market.  We call Guy the "Sam Malone" of Farmer's Markets.  He loves to chat, share his wife, Heather's awesome recipes, and sells fresh, beautiful produce!  Saturday, Guy gave us some turnips and threw down the gauntlet challenging us to come up with a recipe.  I have never cooked turnips so this was an experiment but I'm happy to say...Yum!

I did take some time to look at the health benefits of turnips and turnip greens.  Wow! Some of the benefits derived from turnips are: They are really high in calcium, low in sugar, a great antioxidant, has anti-inflammatory properties, and high in Vitamins C, E, and K...just to name a few.

For this recipe, I used both turnips and turnips greens so although it was easy, it was a 2 step process.

Turnips and Potatoes
Ingredients:
3-4 turnips peeled and quartered
3 medium red potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes, do not peel
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely diced
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash
2 tsps. paprika
Salt/Pepper

Directions:
Brown potatoes and shallots in oil, turn stove to low and cook for 10 minutes.  Add garlic, and turnips. Cook on low until turnips and potatoes are soft.  Season with Mrs. Dash, paprika, salt and pepper.

Turnip Greens
Ingredients:
2 bunches of turnip greens, washed and coarsely chopped, large stems removed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup toasted pecan or walnut pieces

Directions:
Saute' shallots in oil until they start to brown then turn off stove.  Add turnips greens and lemon juice to skillet.  Mix until the greens start to wilt- 1 minute or less. Try to preserve that beautiful green color of the greens.  It's so much better for you and looks more appetizing!

Mix the potato/turnip mixture with the greens and serve.  We served this recipe with honey peppered salmon.