I was looking forward to getting Japanese sweet turnips in our last box. I had a grand plan for a stir fry using the turnip and greens. Unfortunately, Skarsgard Farms had other ideas, and we only got the turnips. So, I needed a plan B.
OK, so this didn’t photograph very well. They tasted pretty good, though. Pairing a spicy herb with a sweet vegetable often works well.
Last week, I had to take my car in for service. There is a Kohl’s right next to the service place-too dangerous! Since I had a 15% off coupon, I decided to do some shopping while my tires were being rotated. They had their grill accessories on sale, so with my coupon I got a smoking deal on a grill wok.
The recipe that came with the wok recommended brushing the sauce on the vegetables. Instead, I just put it on the vegetables a teaspoon at a time. It did not end up really saucy, but was delicious. I’m not posting times for this recipe, because my grill was running out of gas and not as hot as usual. It would probably take 10-15 minutes on a normal day.
1 bunch Japanese sweet turnips, cut into matchsticks
1 bunch broccoli florets
Instructions
Combine ⅓ cup of stir fry sauce and the chicken in a 1 gallon zip lock bag. Refrigerate for 4 hours, turning at least once.
Preheat grill and grill wok on high heat. Remove the chicken from the bag with a slotted spoon and place in the wok. (Discard marinade.) Stir fry until chicken is cooked through. Remove from wok and keep warm.
Place pepper, carrots, and turnips in the wok. Drizzle with a couple of teaspoons of the remaining stir fry sauce. Stir fry until vegetables begin to soften, adding additional stir fry sauce to coat.
Add broccoli and remaining stir fry sauce. Continue to stir fry until vegetables are tender crisp.
Add chicken back into the stir fry and heat through.
You may have noticed I haven’t posted a lot lately. I mentioned in my last post that I had been ill. At that point, I thought I was better. That is, until I completely lost my voice on Tuesday. I’ve spent most of this week laying low and letting my husband cook. Tonight, however, we had run out of recipes. I am also better (hopefully for good), so I decided to stir fry all the veggies we had last from our last box. We got a new box today, so I need to get cracking!
My pictures are getting a little better! My grocery list for this dish consisted of chicken and “something from the Asian foods section.” (I had all the vegetables from our box.) I ended up with a Zesty Orange Ginger sauce. It is yummy and will get used again.
I had never heard of Japanese sweet turnips until I started getting harvest boxes from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Skarsgard Farms. Discovering new vegetables is one of the many benefits of belonging to a CSA. We are really fortunate in that we get shares (boxes) of vegetables year around. Not all CSAs run in the winter.
When looking for a recipe to make with our sweet turnips, I found this recipe from Old Cheney Road Farmers Market for roasted turnips with honey. I was grilling steaks when I cooked this, so I decided to cook them on the grill instead of in the oven.
3 medium Japanese sweet turnips, cut in bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons oil
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
Preheat grill. Combine turnips, oil, and cayenne pepper. Tear a sheet of heavy duty wide aluminum foil about 4 feet long. Double foil, spray one side with non stick cooking spray. Pour turnips on top of foil, drug store wrap. Place on grill over medium low heat for 25 minutes, turning once.
Remove turnips from foil, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cilantro.
We have gotten Japanese Sweet Turnips in our box a couple of times now, and I really like their mild flavor. I found several recipes for cooking them with their greens. Unfortunately, ours came without the greens attached. So, I decided to use the beet greens instead for a simple side dish on a work night.