Rutabaga is not the sexiest of vegetables. It hasn’t experienced a renaissance during these farm-to-table years, as kale, or yams, or spaghetti squash have. But because it was an effective source of dense, caloric starch in northern European diets for centuries before potatoes made their debut, I think it deserves a little love. So today, let’s learn about rutabaga.
Rutabaga is sometimes lumped in with their cousins, the turnips. It is often referred to as Swedish turnips, or swedes. While rutabaga is actually a cross between a cabbage and a turnip, its taste is similar enough that it passes unnoticed in medleys of root vegetables fairly often. The biggest difference between them is that rutabaga has a more mellow taste than a turnip, making it a more adaptable option as a starch.
Like the other members of this vegetable family, rutabaga can be eaten cooked or raw, fried or baked, by itself or braised in a delicious stew. The flavor is very earthy and just a little bit sweet, complimenting tons of other produce in season during these winter months. Mushrooms bring out the former, and apples highlight the latter.
Procuring and Preparing
If you are intent on buying rutabaga in the store, you’ll find it near carrots, parsnips, and cabbage. They are round-ish, purple-ish hunks of starch, usually weighing a pound or two each. Many rutabagas in the U.S. Are grown in Canada, where the climate is close enough to that of its native Northern Europe. You’ll also find that rutabagas are dipped in wax to preserve the flesh for longer.
To prepare the rutabaga, you’ll need to peel it completely. Do not abuse your poor handheld peeler; a better option is to slice the vegetable into discs and cut around the edge with a paring knife.
If you need some ideas on what to make with a bounty of rutabaga, here are a couple recipes to try:
- Pot Roast, from the NY Times Cooking blog
- Brown Sugar Glazed Rutabaga Salad, from The Kitchn
- Mashed Potato, Rutabaga, and Parsnip Casserole with Caramelized Onions, from AllRecipes.com
If you are one of those rare souls who loves rutabaga, how do you like to cook it? Let me know in the comments!