Parmesan Roasted Turnip Wedges

In my quest to get my kids to eat vegetables when they were younger, I discovered that when I roasted almost any vegetable, my kids would eat them.  Once, when we were at a very nice restaurant, my son got some roasted turnips on his plate and fell in love with them.  He asked me to make them at home and this was the result. To him, they were a lot like potato wedges and when I've sliced them into batonnets, they even looked like french fries.  I've been making it for years and saw some lovely fresh turnips at the market so I made it again, as it has been a while, and realized how much I like this dish.  Plus, my son wanted to know how to make them and like all roasted dishes, it takes very little effort to make. The turnips I use are fairly small and all you do  are trim them, peel them and cut them into wedges.  Then roast them with some salt and garlic powder until they are soft and just beginning to brown and sprinkle on some Parmesan Cheese and put them into the broiler until they get very brown.  That's it! 

Turnips were traditionally thought to be very good for the lungs, probably because they are white and also good for the digestive system. And like all of the Cruciferous vegetables, they have anti-cancer properties and are also full of Vitamin C and Calcium and many other nutrients.  This is a really simple and delicious way to serve a very healthy vegetable!

Parmesan Roasted Turnip Wedges

5 - 6 medium turnips

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut off the stem and root ends of the turnip and then peel.  Cut in half and then cut in half again.  Then make 3 wedges.  Repeat with all the turnips.  Place in a large bowl and put in the olive oil, salt and garlic powder. Toss to coat.  Put turnips onto a large baking tray and spread them out so the all touch the pan on one side.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes then turn and roast for an additional 10 minutes.  Then remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle on the Parmesan Cheese.  Turn the oven up to Broil and put the turnips back in. Cook for an additional 5 - 8 minutes - watch carefully - and remove when browned.  

Five Element Analysis

Turnips are a root vegetable so you know that they belong to the Earth Element.  The garlic powder and Parmesan Cheese add just a bit of the Metal Element.  So, this dish is best served as a side to other dishes that are missing the Earth Element. I served it with lamb, rice  and a big green salad with tomatoes to create a balanced meal.