Turnips and potatoes make good roasting buddies.
Pretty soon I’ll be making gratins, stews, soups and purees with them, but for right now, the new fall vegetables that I’m picking up at the farmer’s market will be just showered with sea salt, lots of cracked pepper, and a quick drizzle of olive oil.
These young vegetables aren’t the woody, starchy things with thick waxy peels that usually come to mind when we think root vegetables. They are so fresh at this stage that all you really need to do is give them a good rinse and they’re ready to go in the oven. Leave their root tails and a bit of their tops on; there’s no need to peel them.
On Saturday I picked up something I’d never seen before…Scarlet Turnips. They’re an heirloom variety of a ‘salad’ turnip. Salad turnips can be eaten raw like radishes in salads.
I also picked up some baby blue potatoes, new carrots, and baby beets. I intended to roast them all up together, but somehow the thought of the blue and the scarlet combination won me over. Sometimes simpler is better.
Even though the potatoes were small, I halved them to show off their incredible color. I tossed everything with the olive oil and spread them out on a baking sheet.
It only takes about 30 minutes at 375 for them to get tender inside and crispy brown outside.
I don’t think these interesting varieties have more flavor than regular turnips and potatoes, but it’s fun to play with the beautiful colors, and we’ve been hearing for a while now that strong color pigments signal extra health benefits in foods. Besides, getting more variety in our diets is always a good thing.
I roasted a chicken to keep these guys company on the plate 😉
10 Comments
Sandra Mort
July 11, 2012 at 1:12 amWow, I got both scarlet radishes and baby blue potatoes this week in my csa box!
once in a blue moon
October 3, 2011 at 2:48 pmi so enjoy your photography~
Victoria
October 2, 2011 at 7:26 pmoh my! i need a farmer’s market like yours! I am totally with you on the Baby sizes…bites sized! yum yum! 🙂
Rose
October 3, 2011 at 2:07 amRoot vegetables are so flavourful, IMO. Love them!
Inside a British Mum's Kitchen
October 2, 2011 at 10:18 pmThey look truly beautiful! roasted veggies are the best veggies!
Mary x
Nessa Robins
October 2, 2011 at 9:06 pmI have lots of root veg in the garden and this is just how I’m cooking them these days! I’ve never heard of scarlet turnips before but I love the look of them!
Gerlinde in Dallas
October 2, 2011 at 5:46 pmWow, your vegetables look wonderful. It’s still hot here (well quite hot for me), so I haven’t made it out to the farmer’s market yet.
Looking at your produce has inspired me to reconsider the heat!
gigiofca
October 2, 2011 at 5:08 pmpotatoes are my fave. looks like a great dish!
hostess of the humble bungalow
October 2, 2011 at 4:03 pmThis is our kind of food…
We have yet to see these scarlet turnips in our patch.
We do have yellow beets which we love and they grow happily here in The Humble Bungalow garden.
Roasted root vegs and free range organic roasted chicken are a match made in heaven.
Hostess
From the Kitchen
October 2, 2011 at 2:38 pmI’m roasting vegetables today as well. Yesterday was our last farmer’s market until late spring. I’ll have to do the best I can with produce from Whole Foods and frozen vegetables until then.
Best,
Bonnie