Swede
Brassica napus
Similar vegetables
Turnips, daikon, black radish
A quick introduction
Often confused with purple top turnips, swedes have a more yellow flesh and can get much bigger. The peel is yellow or white at the bottom and gradually becomes dark brown/purple toward the top. Swedes have a sweet and delicate flavour, and a rich and creamy consistency. Swedes can be eaten raw when they are fresh, but they are most commonly used cooked. We usually don’t eat the leaves but you probably could!
Storage
Stores for quite a few days in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.
Season
Fall and winter
Suggestions for preparation
Swedes can be prepared in a varieties of way, and can be easily cooked together with other root vegetables such as carrots, kohlrabi, celeriac, beets, or turnips. Try adding it to a tray of oven roasted veggies along with oil, salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Another great way of cooking swede is by mashing it: boil or steam the root and refry it in some oil or bacon bits and then mash it for a great hearty side!
Recipes
Here’s a link to a recipe we got recommended by one of our members: swede steak with butter sauce (the recipe is for celeriac but works very well with swedes too!
Make a Thai ‘papaya’ salad (Som Tam) with swedes. Replace the fish sauce for kimchi juice for a vegetarian version.
Add cubes of swede to this miso soup (it will still taste nice if you don't have the bonito and kombu).
Use big chunks of swede in this delicious vegetable tajine.
Make these vinegar-based quick pickles that are equally delicious (we like to make them with additional chilli and cardamom, and serve them with falafel.