Each week on Munch Monster we’re going to feature a fruit, vegetable, herb, and anything else that catches the eye or palette that is in season. We’ll share with you the season each item thrives in, as well as recipes and ideas for using the fruit or vegetable. You’ll even find some items that are in season year round, or for lengthy periods of time, featured here.
This week’s seasonal item: Rutabaga
Season: At its peak during the heart of winter, but is cultivated from early fall until April.
Rutabaga is the name used in America and Canada for a root vegetable that is a cross between the turnip and cabbage. Because of the rutabaga winter in Germany (1916-17), where people turned to the tuber for sustenance when potato and grain crops died out, many began to see it as a poor food for hard times. It’s because of this stigma that the rutabaga is still not a popular food item.
The rutabaga is a versatile vegetable, and is often treated like a potato in preparation. In fact a mash of potato, rutabaga, cream and butter is a very common usage. Americans, when we do eat rutabaga, enjoy them mashed with carrots or in a stew. But there’re as many ways to prepare them as with the potato. The rutabaga can grow to be up to six pounds, and comes in colors ranging from yellow to purple to white to tan. The flesh is white or yellow.
Most happy paired with: Butter, cream, ginger, lemon, nutmeg, parsley, sage, sour cream, thyme
Preferred Preparation: Bake, boil, deep-fry, puree, roast.
Featured Recipe: Gingered Rutabaga and Carrot Mash
Ingredients
1 lb peeled and chopped rutabaga
1 lb peeled and chopped carrots
4 tbsp butter, softened
¼ c heavy cream, room temp to warm
2 Tsp freshly grated ginger
1 Tsp chopped fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper
Combine rutabaga and carrot in a large pot of salted water and boil until tender, start checking at about 15 minutes. Drain rutabaga and carrot and either place back in the pot for hand mashing, place in the bowl of a stand mixer, or run through a food mill for a smoother puree.
Mix in the rest of the ingredients, season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy immediately.
