The rutabaga is another vegetable I never ate as a child. Growing up in California and Florida, we ate plenty of green beans, tomatoes and squash, and a green salad was served at every meal. True to her Syrian heritage, my mother made turnip pickles and she rolled rice and ground lamb inside grape leaves, but the rutabaga apparently never made it to the Mediterranean, so it didn’t make it to our dinner table either.
It turns out that the rutabaga is a relative of the turnip, a little sweeter than its white-fleshed cousin and likely to grow to a much larger size. Sometimes, a rutabaga can be hard to distinguish from a turnip. In the early fall, my community-supported agriculture box can contain both turnips and young rutabagas. About the same size, the only way to tell them apart is to cut into them. White flesh? Turnip. Pale yellow flesh? Rutabaga.
Now, at the end of their growing season, the rutabagas are much larger. Charlotte Swancy of Riverview Farm in Ranger says her over-wintered rutabagas can grow to be the size of your head, and they’re still good. “They store better in the ground. We plant ours in late August or the first of September, and leave them in the field until the first heat wave,” she said.
Swancy sells her rutabaga in the fall at the Morningside and Peachtree Road farmers markets, and to her restaurant clientele. Because they’re naturally sweet, her restaurant clients have been known to make rutabaga ice cream.
“Everybody loves rutabaga. I like it better than potatoes. Rutabaga is more flavorful,” Swancy said. Her favorite way to cook rutabaga? Roasted and mashed with butter and garlic.
If you’re getting your rutabagas from a local farmers market, they won’t be waxed. Left on your counter, they’ll start to shrivel in a day or two. Use a plastic bag to hold in the moisture and store them in your refrigerator. They’ll keep for weeks.
Waxed rutabagas from the grocery store will keep on your counter, but at this time of year, the urge to start growing is too much, and your countertop rutabaga is likely to start sprouting leaves. Refrigerate it too for longest life, and cut off that wax coating before prepping it for your recipe.
Rutabaga can be boiled, steamed, roasted, served raw, marinated, braised or pureed. If you’re new to rutabaga, trying caramelizing a few cubes with bacon or brushing slices with maple syrup and bake until tender. I think you’ll be surprised to find, like me, just how much you like this vegetable.
At local farmers markets
These farmers markets will soon be opening for the season.
Marietta Square Farmers Market: opening April 2. www.mariettasquarefarmersmarket.net
Peachtree Road Farmers Market: opening April 9. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Dunwoody Green Market: opening April 13. www.dunwoodygreenmarket.com
Downtown Alpharetta Farmers Market: opening April 16. www.alpharettafarmersmarket.com
Sandy Springs Farmers Market: opening April 16: www.sandyspringsfarmersmarket.com
For sale
Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, collards, dandelion, green onions, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsley, pea tendrils, radishes, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips
From local reports
Rutabaga Gratin
Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union restaurant created this recipe to highlight one of his favorite vegetables. Your grandmother might have called this scalloped rutabagas.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for buttering baking dish
2 medium rutabaga, peeled and thinly sliced (about 2 pounds)
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth, more if needed
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups bread crumbs made from day-old baguette or French bread
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-11-inch baking dish.
Place one layer of thinly sliced rutabagas evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Season uniformly with kosher salt, then dot with tiny pats of butter and sprinkle with thyme and black pepper.
Begin another layer. Season as before with salt, butter, thyme and pepper. Continue this process until all rutabaga is used and each layer is seasoned evenly.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine broth and cream and pour over the vegetables. The liquid should come just to the top of the vegetables. Add more broth if needed. Toss the bread crumbs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter evenly on top of the vegetables. Gently press down on crumbs so they become evenly moist. Bake 40 minutes or until rutabaga is tender when tested with a paring knife. Allow to sit 20 minutes before serving.
Per serving: 379 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 8 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 25 grams fat (13 grams saturated), 65 milligrams cholesterol, 368 milligrams sodium.
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