Rutabaga (called swede in the UK) is an often overlooked starchy vegetable, but one that, if cooked long and slow, rewards the eater with a delightful sweetness that you just wouldn’t guess was there when preparing it.
It has been eaten in Scotland, for many years. There it is traditionally boiled and mashed with butter. I have tried this a few times, and though I love the flavour of rutabaga with butter, the resulting mash (using my hand technique, at least) is always lumpy.
The solution to lumpy rutabaga
This recipe is my solution: Forget the mashing and grate the rutabaga before cooking. And condense the sweetness of the root vegetable by frying (rather than boiling) directly in the butter. Adding turmeric and its activator black pepper just before serving brings both aesthetic joy and rounds out the flavours whilst also giving you some anti-inflammation points!
Make more than you think you’ll need – it reduces a lot during cooking. I’ve occasionally had two large frying pans on the go at one time to make enough to have intentional leftovers the next day!
Turmeric Buttered Rutabaga (Swede)
Serves 3
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Total time 50 minutes
Ingredients:
1 large rutabaga (swede) (c.670g)
optional 2 or 3 carrots (c. 170g)
1 white onion (c 200g)
c. 50g butter
3 tsps powdered turmeric
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
salt, to taste
Method:
1/ Peel the rutabaga, being sure to take off any green bits and then grate it using the coarse side of a box grater or your food processor.
2/ If you’re using carrots, grate these too.
3/ Dice the onion.
4/ Melt half of the butter in a large, preferably heavy bottomed, frying pan then add all the prepared vegetables.
5/ Stir the vegetables well, adjusting the pan to medium low heat.
6/ Continue to cook the vegetables for 30 to 40 minutes, until they have reduced in volume by about 50%. Ensure that you stir them every 5 to 10 minutes, particularly near the end of the cooking time, adding the rest of the butter when with the mix seems dry.
7/ Just before the end of the cooking time, add the turmeric, black pepper and salt. Stir well to combine.
Serving suggestions and other tips:
- This makes a great, and tasty, alternative to potatoes at any meal or use it instead of rice with a curry.
- It’s a comforting bowl to have as a light meal in itself – I like to sometimes add seeds and nuts.
- It is great with eggs! I often plate up the buttered mix, leave the pan on, and then swiftly fry eggs (adding extra butter if needed) to sit atop the golden carb.
- Leftovers keep well in the fridge for at least a couple of days. You can crack eggs into them, mix well, and then form into patties and fry (adding a few bread crumbs if you want to make them thicker).
- An untold number of spices go with this dish! I have often added cumin (sometimes I dry toast it beforehand), coriander, nutmeg, allspice, nigella seeds and garlic.
Check out some of my other gluten-free recipes:
7 Delicious Ways To Use Millet In Your Kitchen