Turnips can grow to be be as big as your head, are rather unappetizing and they’re frequently fed to livestock.

However, if you’re lucky enough to find tiny baby turnips as I did at the farmers market the other day, then I recommend buying a bagful. When raw, they have a crisp, peppery flavor and are absolutely delicious sliced into a salad or dunked into aioli, as you would with a radish.

However, if you roast them in a hot oven for about 20 minutes, you’ll have sweeter-tasting, tender morsels, made even more delicious when smothered in a lemony herb dressing.

Another way to serve them would be to cook them like potatoes then toss them in butter with a little soft brown sugar.

In this recipe they’re best eaten warm or at room temperature. I left the green stalks on them for appearances only – they aren’t meant to be eaten.

Roast Baby Turnips with a Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

ROAST BABY TURNIPS with a LEMON & FRESH HERB VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients:

1 lb (1/2 kilo) of baby turnips, washed and with stalks trimmed short

2 tablespoons hi temp cooking oil such as avocado or grape seed

For the vinaigrette:

1/2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of finely chopped shallot

2 heaped tablespoons of chopped parsley

A pinch or two of sugar

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Action:

Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C and put a roasting pan in the oven to heat.

Cut the turnips in half lengthwise, toss them with the two tablespoons of avocado oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Arrange the turnips in the preheated pan and roast for 18-25 minutes or until tender and tinged brown in patches.

Transfer them turnips to a bowl, allow them to cool a bit then toss them with the vinaigrette.

Serve warm or at room temp. If you make them ahead, cover and chill in the fridge but bring them back to room temp before serving.