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While the summer is indisputably the most popular season for farmers markets, winter markets shouldn’t be overlooked. Instead of focusing on what’s going out of season, think of the amazing root vegetable selection that awaits you. In particular, these 7 root vegetables are my favorites at the winter farmers market, and I can’t wait to share all of them with you.
Don’t forget about the tops!
Often, root vegetables are sold with their tops at the farmers market. Don’t throw them out! These tops are edible and the flavor is reminiscent of the root vegetable itself, whether its a peppery radish or pungent turnip. This is the best way to get extra value from the farmers market, since you’ll be getting more use out of the same vegetables. I know I say this a lot, but that doesn’t make it any less true!
If you’re in doubt on how to use vegetable greens, just sauté them up with some bacon. Bacon makes everything taste great!
Celeriac/Celery Root
Celeriac might not be the prettiest root vegetable out there, but it is amongst the most versatile. Celeriac has a mild herbal flavor and blends well into many different cuisines and techniques. And even though it is also known as celery root, it’s not the taproot of the same celery plant that we use for stalks, but it is closely related.
Best Cooking Techniques for Celeriac
Celeriac can be boiled, baked, roasted, and sautéed. Really, you can cook it any which way and it’ll turn out great. I promise!
Recipe Recommendations for Celeriac
Celeriac experienced a recent surge in interest due to its lower carb content when compared to potatoes. While I don’t necessarily concern myself with the exact breakdown of carbs and macros, I do love celeriac mash. It’s a Veg World After All has a good breakdown of how to make a creamy celeriac mash.
Celeriac can be roasted in large steaks, a la cauliflower steaks. This method can be a little time consuming, as it’ll take at least 45 minutes to fully cook and brown the celeriac, but it is well worth it. Rebel Recipes has a simple recipe for celeriac steak with an Italian salsa verde if you want a guide on getting started.
Daikon Radishes
Daikon radishes are long, usually white taproots that have a mild peppery flavor. These radishes are common element in many Japanese, Korean, and Chinese dishes. The tops are used as well as a peppery leafy green, so don’t overlook those either.
Daikon radishes can be purple or white. The color does not affect the flavor, but you may want to use the purple radishes to make your dishes more visually appealing.
Best Techniques for Daikon Radish
Daikon radishes can be roasted, braised, fermented, pickled, or eaten raw.
Recipe Recommendations for Daikon Radish
Slice the Daikon radishes thinly in this refreshing Daikon Cucumber Salad from This Healthy Table. This recipe would make an excellent side dish for baked fish or grilled meat.
Turnip Cake is a classic Chinese dim sum dish, but it isn’t made with turnips. It’s actually made with grated radishes. The traditional recipe is documented by The Woks of Life, and while it can be involved, the end result is worth it.
Jicama
I’m going to be honest with you, there isn’t much flavor to jicama, but it is full of texture! These guys are crunchy and juicy. Jicama is best when you need to add a textural element to a dish, but you don’t want anything that will compete with your main ingredients. Jicama can really blend into any circumstances you let it.
Best Cooking Techniques for Jicama
Jicama is best eaten raw. How finely you cut the jicama will affect the crunch/juicy factor. Thicker pieces will seem juicier than thinner pieces.
Recipe Recommendations for Jicama
Add some crunch to your next cole slaw side with Isabel Eats’ Jicama Slaw. This is a perfect topping for fish tacos, or as a side for a crispy chicken sandwich.
While I do recommend eating jicama raw to appreciate all of its mild flavor, it can be baked into crispy fries as well. Kelli Foster’s recipe adds flavor with spices and turns jicama into a special side perfect for burgers.
Parsnips
No, these aren’t white carrots. Parsnips and carrots are both in the parsley family, but they aren’t the same despite the similar appearance. Parsnips are sweeter and earthier than carrots, so you’ll definitely want to give these roots a try. Look for parsnips that are smaller in diameter for the best texture, as the larger the parsnip, the woodier the texture tends to be.
Best Cooking Techniques for Parsnips
Parsnips can be cooked the same way as carrots. Try sautéing, roasting, baking, broiling, boiling and braising them. Unlike carrots, however, parsnips are at their best when cooked.
Parsnips are drier than carrots, though, so don’t skimp on the fat when you are roasting them. Over-roasting parsnips will result in a chalky texture, so you’ll want to watch them closely once they’re in the oven.
Recipe Recommendations for Parsnips
Break out the mandolin slicer and layer together parsnips and potatoes in my creamy gratin recipe. This is an excellent make-ahead dish and a crowd pleaser for any holiday get-together.
Turn parsnips into dessert in this Brown Butter Parsnip Loaf Cake from Olives+Thyme. Trust me, you could hide the fact that there are vegetables in this cake and no one would question you. In fact, parsnips are so sweet, the Romans used them to sweeten their desserts (they did not have cane sugar or sugar beets).
Rutabagas
Rutabagas tend to be polarizing: either you love the sweet earthy flavor, or you are overwhelmed by the sulfurous background notes. I rarely find people who have lukewarm feelings on this root vegetable. They are either in one category or the other. I do encourage you to try them, though, because rutabagas really do stand out in a good way when treated properly.
Contrary to popular belief, rutabagas are not the same thing as a purple turnip. They are often mislabeled at grocery stores, but there are some easy ways to distinguish rutabagas from turnips. First, while purple topped turnips and rutabagas have purple-ish tops, rutabagas have a yellower, creamier colored bottom. Turnips will be a brighter white color. Second, rutabagas tend to be larger than the average turnip, so if it’s tough to tell the difference by color, check the size.
Best Cooking Techniques for Rutabagas
The best way to draw out the sweet flavor of rutabagas is to bake or roast them. Rutabagas are dense and will require some time in the oven to soften. But, in contrast to other root vegetables on this list, rutabagas should not be eaten raw. It won’t kill you, it’s edible that way, but it just is not pleasant.
Recipe Recommendations for Rutabagas
Rutabagas can have a very strong flavor with some sulfurous notes, so I recommend combining them with other root vegetables to tame the strong flavor if you’ve got picky eaters in your house. The Darling Apron has an excellent recipe combining rutabagas with russet potatoes to make a creamy mash. The rutabagas bring a sweet note to the mash, while the potatoes and cream help to cover up the less desirable rutabaga flavor.
Peel with Zeal has a great recipe for Parmesan Baked Rutabaga. This dish is a lighter take on a gratin; by replacing the cream with vegetable stock, your dish won’t be nearly as heavy.
Turnips
Turnip varieties range from mild to spicy. Baby turnips and Hakurei turnips are on the milder side, whereas the larger purple topped varieties have a stronger, spicier flavor. You’ll likely see a large selection at your farmers market, so pair the turnip to the dish you are making. Save milder turnips for delicate, turnip forward dishes and use the stronger turnips in braises and mashes.
Turnip tops are reminiscent of collard greens and mustard greens. Be sure to incorporate them into your dishes when you buy turnips!
Best Cooking Techniques for Turnips
Please do not default to boiling as your cooking method for turnips. They deserve better.
Turnips are excellent when they are baked, roasted, braised, and sautéed. They’re best in high heat applications when they get a little caramelized before cooking through.
Recipe Recommendations for Turnips
Of course, I’m partial to my Mustard Roasted Turnips. This Whole30 compliant dish packs in flavor without covering up the best that a roasted turnip has to offer.
Use both the turnips and turnip greens in this braised turnip dish from Amanda Freitag. Here, the turnips are seared in butter before simmering in stock, so you’ll get the best of both worlds: the caramelized sweetness from the sear and creamy interior from the longer braise. Don’t be tempted to leave out the apple cider vinegar, though. This is necessary to lighten the dish back up.
Sunchokes/Jerusalem Artichokes
Sunchokes are a tuberous vegetable harvested from a sunflower plant. They taste vaguely like a cross between nutty, roasted sunflower seeds, potatoes, and water chestnuts.
You may see sunchokes sold under the name “Jerusalem artichoke,” but this name is pretty misleading. The sunchoke is native to North America and is not closely related to artichokes at all. Nevertheless, the name has stuck around. More often than not, though, I see them labeled as sunchokes at the farmers market, so that is the name I use.
When picking out sunchokes, look for small, firm roots. Larger roots can be woody and tough, whereas the smaller ones are more tender. Since they are tuberous and full of protrusions, they can be full of dirt; use a vegetable brush and a little elbow grease to get all that dirt out of there before cooking.
Best Cooking Techniques for Sunchokes
Sunchokes are suitable for almost all cooking techniques, but I think they are best roasted, sautéed, or pureed into soups.
Sunchokes are exceptionally well suited to make chips if you happen to have a countertop deep fryer, but I know that’s fairly uncommon. I’m not entirely sure an air fryer would give the same results as a deep fryer in this case.
Recipe Recommendations for Sunchokes
If sunchokes are new to you, I recommend adding them to a breakfast hash. This is a simple recipe; there are no crazy techniques or ingredients besides the sunchokes, which really lets you focus on the star ingredient.
Sunchokes are perfect for soup season! Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes tend to have long ingredient lists, but they are well worth the extra effort. Don’t skimp on the hazelnuts for a garnish on this soup; sunchokes and hazelnuts are especially well suited together.
