Yes, you read right!  Pan fried turnips.  I have blogged before about vegetables “in padella” the way the Italians cook them (to perfection).  A little olive oil, a clove or two of garlic, peeled and then the clove discarded before serving or thinly sliced and served with the vegetable.  I am oh, so partial to garlic, so I tend to peel the garlic, slice it, and include it with the vegetable.

I planted turnips last year for the greens and as I was harvesting them, my neighbor who is married to an italian happened to come by.  “Oh, what lovely turnips,” she said, so, of course, I offered her half of my stash, mainly to pick her brain to see how she meant to cook them.  She didn’t SAY “in padella” but she described well enough what she was planning to do, and that night I peeled my turnips, sliced them thinly, as she said she did, and proceeded to pan fry them in a bit of olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic.  Boy, was I surprised and delighted and a bit sorry I had given her half of my stash…wish I had given her, maybe a fourth?

Last week I stopped at the farm stand in Silva, North Carolina, and was delighted to find bunches of turnips – the greens were sold separately.  I cooked them up, “in padella”, of course, and they were delicious.  Notice how they brown.  That is because of the sugar content.  They almost caramelized as they cook.  They made a great side dish with baby back ribs.

Ingredients:

1. turnips
2. extra virgin olive oil
3. garlic cloves

Directions:

Peel the turnips and slice them 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet

sauté the turnips for about 4 minutes each side turning once.

Notice how the turnips brown at the edges.  They are yummy!