Rutabaga

Have you thought of a stew with some beef (or meat of choice)? Absolutely wonderful!

I go for cooked then mashed, sometimes mixed half with potatoes if you like milder flavor. Roasted in chunks or slabs with a little olive oil is also good. I've also sliced it thin and layered with other veggies/cheese (could add meat, but I'm vegetarian ) and some liquid (broth or white sauce, say) and baked it until done (might have to bake covered at first because it cooks a little slowly). Pasties or pot pie are excellent but a lot of work!

Not sure where I got this recipe, but it's a tasty option for root vegetables in the winter. Roasting brings out their sweetness. No reason you need all the veggies listed to make it. In my opinion, it makes more than 8 servings.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES WITH ROSEMARY

Roast these up to four hours ahead; put them in to reheat when the main course is done.

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 pound red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut into 1-inch-thick rounds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled

Position 1 rack in bottom third of oven and 1 rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Spray 2 heavy large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Combine all remaining ingredients except garlic in very large bowl; toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Divide vegetable mixture between prepared sheets. Place 1 sheet on each oven rack. Roast 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reverse positions of baking sheets. Add 5 garlic cloves to each baking sheet.

Continue to roast until all vegetables are tender and brown in spots, stirring and turning vegetables occasionally, about 45 minutes longer. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheets at room temperature. Rewarm in 450°F oven until heated through, about 15 minutes.)

Transfer roasted vegetables to large bowl and then serve.

Makes 8 servings.

I generally use them just like I would a potato. I have cut them like fries and baked them, chopped them up & mashed them, next I am going to try cubing them and baking them for a breakfast burrito. The thing I like about the rutabaga is that it is something you can put on to cook unsupervised while you are prepping or paying attention to other elements of the meal.

My favorite rutabaga recipe- Mash Medley
1lb Rutabaga, 1in cubes; 1lb Turnip, 1in cubes; 2lbs potatoes (I like red), 1.5-2in cubes; Bring a 4 quart pot of water to boil, I add the cubes as I cut to the water as it comes to boil, lower burner setting to medium, cook for about 20 minutes or until tender; drain and return to pot or into bowl
Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup of unsalted butter, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbsp basil, 2 tbsp parsley
Mash everything up

Rutabagas stewed with a ham hock is how my grandma always did it. Man, now I'm salivating. There's also delicious sliced up with other root veggies like carrots and potatoes, drizzled with EVOO and broth and slow roasted in the oven.

I treat them like turnips. Usually roasted with other vegetables, sometimes stewed. If I had just a rutabaga I would cut it into chunks, put it in a saucepan with a little onion, salt, pepper and butter, sweat it for a few minutes, add just enough stock to cover, and cook until soft.

OP, thanks for this thread. I decided to try Rutabaga this week for the very first time because of it! I braised it on the stove-top. Delicious! My husband on the other hand said it was too spicy (I didn't add anything spicy to it) ...