This Roasted Hakurei Turnips recipe is a delicious and simple way to enjoy the delicately flavored turnips that you might find in your CSA share or at the farmers market. This recipe uses the whole plant, as the turnip greens get added at the end of the cooking process. Disclosure: The recommended wine was provided as a complimentary sample.
I’m happy to find Hakurei turnips in my CSA or at the farmers market! These turnips have a nuanced flavor profile, and are delicious when roasted as we do in this recipe. We’ve been making this regularly, and it’s about time we shared the recipe here!
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What are hakurei turnips?
Hakurei turnips, also known as Japanese or salad turnips, are a unique variety that have a crisp texture and mild, sweet flavor. Their delicate taste is less pungent and bitter compared to the more robust flavors of other turnip varieties.
While hakurei turnips can be cooked using methods like roasting or stir-frying to bring out their natural sweetness, their tender texture and pleasant taste make them suitable for eating raw, whether sliced into salads or eaten whole like an apple.
The hakurei turnip greens can be eaten, and are included in our recipe for roasted hakurei turnips.
Recipe tips and overview
Here are some tips and a visual overview of the recipe steps. Head on down to the recipe card for all the details.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare the hakurei turnips – Separate the turnip greens from the bulbs, if you have not already done so. (the greens and bulbs should be stored separately if you aren’t making this on the day you get the turnips).
Coarsely chop the turnip greens…
And chop the bulbs into one inch pieces.
Place the turnip bulbs in a roasting pan, along with the radishes, if using. Toss the hakurei turnips with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Roast the turnips for about 25 minutes, checking with a fork to see if they are tender. Cook for another 5 minutes or so if needed to get them tender.
Make the sauce as the turnips roast. Combine the 2 teaspoons garlic olive oil, ½ teaspoon soy sauce, dried ginger and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes.
Add the turnip greens to the pan when the turnips are tender. Stir to combine, and roast for another 5 minutes with the greens and turnip bulbs roasting together.
Combine with sauce. After the greens have roasted for 5 minutes with the bulbs, remove the baking dish from the oven. Stir the sauce in with the wilted greens and bulbs, and the dish is ready to enjoy!
What to serve with hakurei turnips
Most recently, we served this roasted hakurei turnips recipe with our Braised Moroccan Chicken Thighs recipe, and that was a good combination.
This turnip dish would also be good alongside grilled food such as this grilled swordfish or some steak. It also can be a good side for a vegetarian pasta dish.
Wine pairing
When making these turnips recently, we opened the 2023 Sonoma-Cutrer Rosé of Pinot Noir ($20, 11.9% ABV). This rosé is a light salmon pink in the glass, with hibiscus notes on the nose. On the palate, some raspberry fruit along with herbal notes.
Made with a delicate touch, this Sonoma-Cutrer Rosé is pleasant to sip on its own but also very food friendly. It paired nicely with the hakurei turnips as well as the Moroccan chicken. The wine is made with 100% Pinot Noir, sustainably grown in the Russian River Valley.
I chatted with Sonoma-Cutrer’s winemaker about more pairing ideas for this rosé in this episode of the Cook Local podcast.
Other pairing options
I would take into account what I am serving for an entrée when thinking about other pairings for the hakurei turnips. But focusing just on the veggie dish, I would keep in mind that the recipe has those turnip flavors, albeit a bit milder with hakurei turnips. Plus, you have some Asian accents on the sauce. So I would stay away from red wines with big tanning, and think in terms of rosé, whites like Sauvignon Blanc of white Rhones, and Pinot Noir in the red department.
PrintRecipe card
Roasted Hakurei Turnips
Hakurei turnips get roasted and tossed with a simple sauce as well as the turnip greens for a tasty side dish recipe. Great way to enjoy these flavorful turnips you might find in your CSA share or at the farmer’s market!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of hakurei turnip bulbs, scrubbed and chopped into one inch pieces (about 2 cups, chopped)
- 2 radishes, scrubbed and quartered (optional)
- Greens (the tops) from the hakurei turnips, rinsed and coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons garlic olive oil (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare the turnips: Remove the green tops from the turnip bulbs, and store separately. When you are ready to start cooking the dish, rinse and scrub the turnip bulbs, and wash the greens. Coarsely chop the greens, and chop the turnip bulbs into bit sized pieces, about 1 inch long.
- Place the turnip bulb pieces in a roasting pan, along with the chopped radishes if using. Toss the turnips with the 2 tablespoons olive and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Roast the turnips for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, check for tenderness by piercing with a fork. Roast for a bit longer if not tender yet. When they are tender, stir in the chopped greens and roast for another 5 minutes.
- Make the sauce as the turnips roast. In a bowl, combine the 2 teaspoons garlic olive oil, ½ teaspoon soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and dried ginger. Set aside.
- Remove the turnips from the oven and toss immediately with the sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you aren’t going to make this recipe the day you get the turnips, remove the turnip greens from the turnip bulbs, and store the greens separately. The turnips will stay fresh longer this way.
- If you don’t have garlic infused olive oil, you can use two teaspoons of regular olive oil with 1 clove of minced garlic.
Juyali
Lovely side dish. My grandmother used to cook turnips, but I never made them myself. This recipe was easy and turned out delicious. Thank you!
Cooking Chat
Great! Thanks for the feedback.
Adriana
I was surprised you can use the whole turnip plant to create a delightful dish. I need to find Japanese turnips in my area as I can only find classic turnips which I used for this recipe to try it.
Cooking Chat
Thanks Adriana – hope you are able to find them!