Turnips and Rutabagas: Recipes for Two Great Roots That Deserve More Love

In Season: The peak season for turnips and rutabagas begins in October and lasts through the winter. These root vegetables are available year-round in many markets.

What to Look For: In the garden, grocery store, or farmers' market, choose firm, unwrinkled vegetables with root and stem ends intact. Avoid those with soft spots.

How to Store: When you get your selections home, cut any green tops down; wrap the vegetables in an airtight bag and store them in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Use baby turnips within a few days; larger turnips and rutabagas will keep a little longer, some up to several weeks.

This family-favorite cold-weather dinner incorporates sweet rutabagas into the creamy mashed-potato topping. Shepherd's pie freezes beautifully, so consider making an extra one to save for a busy day.

Grated turnips are mixed in with the shredded potatoes and then formed into patties and pan-fried. These crispy golden cakes make an excellent side dish for fish.

Tiny Tokyo turnips are the size of radishes and have a lightly sweet flavor and buttery texture when cooked. Here, they are simply steamed in order to let their delicate flavor come through. Serve with a selection of condiments such as butter, olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice.

Humble root vegetables get the royal treatment when baked in a generous amount of heavy cream. Choose a robust herb such as thyme or sage to complement the earthy turnips and potatoes.

In this variation on a traditional French potato dish, thin overlapping slices of potato and rutabaga are studded with roasted garlic and cooked in a skillet until crisp on the bottom and tender throughout. This lovely side dish can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven just before serving.