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Dig it: Yucca, parsnips, turnips among edible buried treasures

By John Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 17, 2009 at 3 p.m.

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Beets: A commonly crimson bulbous root with a slightly sweet taste. It also can be found golden- colored and pink. The smaller and younger beets are milder-tasting. Beet greens are quite tasty sautéed in butter.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Beets: A commonly crimson bulbous root with a slightly sweet taste. It also can be found golden- colored and pink. The smaller and younger beets are milder-tasting. Beet greens are quite tasty sautéed in butter.

Celeriac or celery root: Large, brown, knobby bulbs with a delicate celery-like flavor. Despite being part of the celery family, it doesn't produce a conventional stalk.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Celeriac or celery root: Large, brown, knobby bulbs with a delicate celery-like flavor. Despite being part of the celery family, it doesn't produce a conventional stalk.

Parsnips: Ivory-colored roots shaped similar to carrots. Mild, barely sweet flavor.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Parsnips: Ivory-colored roots shaped similar to carrots. Mild, barely sweet flavor.

Turnips: Purple-topped, mainly white bulbous root. Small turnips have a milder flavor. Slightly bitter turnip leaves — like mustard greens — are popularly consumed after being steamed or cooked with bacon.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Turnips: Purple-topped, mainly white bulbous root. Small turnips have a milder flavor. Slightly bitter turnip leaves — like mustard greens — are popularly consumed after being steamed or cooked with bacon.

Yucca, aka manioc or cassava: A mild-tasting, large, white starchy root with thick brown skin eaten widely in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and Asia.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Yucca, aka manioc or cassava: A mild-tasting, large, white starchy root with thick brown skin eaten widely in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and Asia.

Rutabaga, or swede: More nutritious per ounce than a turnip, it looks like a yellow turnip but with a stronger taste akin to Brussels sprouts.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

Rutabaga, or swede: More nutritious per ounce than a turnip, it looks like a yellow turnip but with a stronger taste akin to Brussels sprouts.

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Poll

Which vegetable do you hate the most?


Turnips just can't get any respect. Funny-sounding rutabagas are even less popular. Ditto for yucca. Celeriac sounds like a digestive disorder.

And just forget about beets, the root vegetable that everyone feels free to defame.

"I always avoid eating them," said President-elect Barack Obama about beets to the Associated Press in November. Even Mr. Consensus won't reach out when it comes to the produce aisle.

It was only a generation or two ago that parsnips, celeriac and their underground cousins were considered vegetable royalty, finding their way to the dinner tables of most families, especially in the winter.

Folks these days - especially the young ones - wouldn't know a parsnip if it hit them in the head.

Granted, roots aren't as cute as your celebrity veggies like asparagus and artichokes. And they do require a little bit of work to prepare, but no more so than the more popular (and blander) ones, carrots and potatoes. Plus, many of us were forced to eat turnips that may have been too big and earthy-tasting or were overcooked or underseasoned.

However, the much-maligned roots are beginning to make a comeback. They're cheered on by bistro chefs who roast field-fresh baby beets and parsnips and serve them up, sweet and yummy, in salads and as the perfect accompaniment to beef and game birds.

Meanwhile, the culinary cognoscenti - your Slow Food, farm-to-table, and localvore types - view roots as natural wonders. They are relearning what our elders knew - that these vegetables are very inexpensive, they store well and are fat- free, low in sodium, high in fiber and rich in vitamins.

There are dozens of fine underground edibles - fungi, roots and rhizomes - including kohlrabi, black truffles, Jerusalem artichoke, taro, daikon radish, ginger, horseradish, jicama, yams and wasabi.

Cook roots right and even beet avoiders like the president will learn to love them.

Here are a few favorites to consider for your own root revival.

.

Celeriac or celery root

* Details: Large, brown, knobby bulbs with a delicate celery-like flavor. Wash thoroughly and peel off thick outer layer. Immediately plunge whole bulb or cut pieces into warm water with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.

* How to cook: Can be eaten raw when sliced thinly. Often used to flavor soups, mashed, or used in baked casseroles and gratins as a side dish for roasted lamb and turkey.

* Of note: Despite being part of the celery family, it doesn't produce a conventional stalk.

.

Beets

* Details: A commonly crimson bulbous root with a slightly sweet taste. It also can be found golden- colored and pink. The smaller and younger beets are milder-tasting. Beet greens are quite tasty sauteed in butter.

* How to cook: Beets often are roasted to bring out their sweetness and served with poultry. They can be sliced thinly and served with goat cheese in salads. Always add beets last to any dish; otherwise the dish will rapidly turn pink or red.

* Of note: Colorado boasts a large beet harvest, but the vast majority are sugar beets, a variety used solely as a sugar source.

.

Parsnips

* Details: Ivory-colored roots shaped similar to carrots. Mild, barely sweet flavor.

* How to cook: Choose the smallest parsnips available - they are more tender. They must be peeled before being roasted, fried for chips or boiled in stews or mashed.

* Of note: Believed to be an aphrodisiac in Roman times.

.

Turnips

* Details: Purple-topped, mainly white bulbous root. Small turnips have a milder flavor. Slightly bitter turnip leaves - like mustard greens - are popularly consumed after being steamed or cooked with bacon.

* How to cook: Can be roasted with meats, fried as chips or boiled and mashed and served like potatoes.

* Of note: Turnips were brought to North America by explorer Jacques Cartier, who planted them in Canada in 1541.

.

Yucca aka manioc or cassava

* Details: A mild-tasting, large, white starchy root with thick brown skin eaten widely in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa and Asia.

* How to cook: Prepare similarly to potatoes: steamed, boiled, roasted or cut in thin chips and fried. Yucca also is made into a flour used to thicken soups and sauces.

* Of note: Yucca is the third- largest source of carbohydrates for human consumption around the world.

.

Rutabaga, or swede

* Details: More nutritious per ounce than a turnip, it looks like a yellow turnip but with a stronger taste akin to Brussels sprouts.

* How to cook: Same as turnips

* Of note: The rutabaga is a rare hybridization of cabbage and turnip. Before pumpkins became available in England, rutabagas were hollowed out and used as jack-o'-lanterns.

Comments

  • February 18, 2009

    12:53 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    engineer61 writes:

    Kohlrabi aren't root vegetables, they just look like they are. Actually they are members of the cabbage family and grow above ground on a stalk. They grow well in most soils around the Denver area. And yes, they are very tasty and tender if you pick them when they are about baseball size, if you let them get larger they become tough, fibrous and woody inside, much like a carrot will if left to grow too long.