Heather says:
Welcome to the Fearless Friday that almost wasn’t. I’ve been under the weather and limited to soups and very soft foods. Being the masochist I am, I’ve also been paging through and drooling over my cookbooks waiting for the day I can manage them. Thursday’s dinner prep rolled around and as I stood there, I realized I had given absolutely no thought to this week’s Fearless Friday.
I looked around the kitchen somewhat desperately, trying to find a balance between something I had the energy to try and the ability to eat. Since I’ve been trying to focus on seasonal cooking my eyes landed on the rutabaga lurking on my counter. Perfect, I thought.
Fearless Fridays are a weekly event where readers of this site share their culinary adventures. For some, it’s simply the act of preparing a meal in their home instead of hitting the drive through. For others it’s trying new foods, recipes, or techniques. It’s a chance to push against our boundaries and maybe discover new favorites. Not every attempt will be successful but everyone is encouraged to share, if you have a blog post a link to your post below, if you have a Flickr account share a picture, and if you have neither? Just share in the comments.
What do you do with a rutabaga?
I had planned roasting this rutabaga with turnips and carrots. Instead I decided to try mashing it. It was ridiculously easy. Cut off both the top and root, then use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the waxy outer layer. Cut the vegetable into equal size pieces and steam, either in a steamer or in a pot with an inch or so of water.
Steam until tender, I was distracted, but I think it took 30 minutes.
At first, I tried to use a pastry blender to mash the steamed rutabaga, but I quickly gave up and broke out my immersion blender. Rutabaga is not as starchy as potatoes and even using a stick blender, it did not become gluey. Since I had never used rutabaga before, I simply added butter, salt, and fresh ground pepper.
The results?
Delicious.
The mashed rutabaga is slightly sweeter than a mashed potato, but not as sweet as a squash. It has a faint “root” like taste, I don’t know how to describe it, other than it reminds me of the smell of pulling weeds in the summer.
Before experimenting, I wanted to try it plain, I wanted a feel for the vegetable with the silly name. In the future, I’ll steam it with stock, either chicken or vegetable and I’ll add herbs that complement the main dish. I’ll experiment with adding a splash of milk or cream, as I do with mashed potatoes, but mostly I’ll just be sure this previously ignored vegetable becomes a part of our diet.
What did you do for Fearless Friday?
[...] I haven’t been participating in Home-Ec 101’s Fearless Fridays lately, I’ve still be following along. Last week, Heather explored rutabagas, a vegetable [...]