CSA season is in full swing, so it’s fairly likely that a number of you have some hakurei turnips on your hands. If not, you can always nip down to your local farmers market, you’re sure to find a bunch of beautiful white orbs with a huge tuft of bright greens shooting off the top. I must confess that hakurei turnips used to be my least favourite veggie in the CSA box each summer, but only because I didn’t really know what the heck to do with them. Now I eagerly await and relish their presence.

Turnip greens have a lovely bite and are absolutely wonderful when they’re whipped into a tasty pesto. You can enjoy it on a sandwich with tomato and cheese, mixed into hot pasta, tossed with hot veggies, or on a pizza.

This recipe is delightful. I can’t wait to make it again. It’s delicious, jam-packed full of flavour, a super creative way to use up turnip greens, very easy and quick to make, and an excellent vegetarian option to boot.

I made mine with mini naan breads, but feel free to make your own pizza crust, or purchase some pre-made from the store. I also added crumbled blue cheese to one of the pizzas and it was unbelievably good.

Turnip Greens Pesto Pizza

Turnip Greens Pesto

turnip greens from 2-3 medium turnips, roughly chopped (can substitute with arugula)

1 garlic scape (can sub with 1 clove of garlic) chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons lemon juice (optional)

4-6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more to thin if necessary

salt and pepper to taste

Pizza

2-3 turnips, thinly sliced

4 small or 3 large naan breads or pizza dough

1/2 cup freshly grated cheese – mozza is probably best but I used gruyere

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

handful of fresh arugula or torn basil (optional)

Pesto – put all the pesto ingredients into a food processor and blend until a paste has formed. Add more olive oil if it’s too tick. Taste and add salt if needed.

Pizza - Preheat the oven to 350F for naan breads or follow your pizza dough instructions.

Spread the pesto and layer the turnip onto the naan breads. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes (and maybe some crumbled blue cheese) and bake in the over until the cheese has melted, about 10-12 minutes.

Remove the pizza from the oven and toss a few handfuls of arugula onto the warm pie. Slice and serve.