Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Rutabaga Oven-Baked Fries

Rutabaga can be grown successfully in Texas, and the rutabaga from your garden will put those wax coated, grocery store rutabaga to shame.  In the grocery store, a rutabaga will look something like the picture below.  I think they coat them in thick wax to prolong storage.

A rutabaga from your garden will looking something like the picture below.  This rutabaga is called 'Purple Top'.  I guess you can see where it gets it's name. 

In order to be successful growing rutabaga, I have always started my seeds indoors around the July/August time frame.  The conventional wisdom is that root crops don't transplant well, but starting rutabaga seeds outdoors in the Texas summer, or even fall for that matter, is just not practical.  I start mine indoors and keep bumping them up until the temperatures cool and I can finally plant them.

Back in October 2011, I planted these little rutabaga transplants into the garden.  In the picture below, the rutabaga are under netting to protect them from the local wildlife.  Due to the severeness of our drought at the time, the birds were eating any seedlings they found in the garden.

I harvested my first rutabaga in December shortly after we had our first freeze.  It was pretty tasty, but rutabaga flavor only improves when the temperatures get colder.  The plants can get quite large and by February the rutabaga are as big as honeydew melons.

 When a rutabaga is lifted from the ground, the top foliage and the roots can be cut away with a knife.


Friends always ask me, "What do you do with a rutabaga?"  My favorite preparation (see mashed rutabaga)  is to cut the rutabaga into pieces and boil until they are soft.  Then, I mash the softened rutabaga with butter, salt and pepper.

Rutabaga are tasty in beef stew or with pot roast.  Basically, any time you're serving potatoes and carrots, rutabagas will fit right into the menu.  

I have a garden full of rutabaga, so I've been on the lookout lately for some new rutabaga recipes.   I saw several recipes on the internet for rutabaga oven-baked fries, so thought I would give that a try.  

To prepare the fries, cut the rutabaga into 1/2 inch slices and thoroughly cut away the outer peel. 

Cut the slices into strips that resemble hand-cut french fries, and drizzle the fries with olive oil.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes or until the fries are tender when pierced with a fork.  


The fries will be soft and not crispy like actual french fries.  This was a little disappointing, so I attempted another batch at 350 degrees for 25 minutes to see if I would get a different result.  Unfortunately, the result was pretty much the same. 

To serve, sprinkle the rutabaga with garlic powder, paprika and kosher salt.  Even though they were not crispy, they still made a tasty side dish.





16 comments:

  1. Being from a Texas family, I know nothing about rutabaga. I've never eaten it. It sure is a pretty plant. What is it related to? Turnip?
    Cindy S.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A rutabaga is a cross between a turnip and cabbage, but I think it tastes more like a cross between a carrot and a potato. Some people say it has a turnip-like bite to it, but if you let it get zapped by some freezes, I think it mellows and gets sweet.

      Delete
  2. My mother loved rutabagas. She boiled them, too.
    I sometimes will add a sliced raw one to veggies trays. People are surprised that they taste good. I've never grown any.
    We lived in Germany years, and years ago....Mr P was in the army...and they grew rutabagas very large...larger than a honeydew. They would pile them in the fields and cover them with soil and straw to store for the winter. Huge mounds of these. It was quite interesting, for a Texas city girl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great story. I can almost see those piles of rutabagas. I wish I could do that here in Texas. When the harvest comes in, it's hard to find room in the fridge.

      Delete
  3. Such a beautiful vegetable garden. I've had rutabaga, but not fresh. Yours are lovely. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tina. The rain has made everything grow beautifully. I love it!

      Delete
  4. Try olive oiling the pieces, corn starching them, then laying them in a single layer, not touching, on the cookie sheet. Bake as per your recipe. The problem is that the fries will steam instead of crisp up if they're touching on the sheet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katina, you've got my attention. If I could make crispy rutabaga fries that would be awesome. I'm definitely going to try your suggestion. Thanks.

      Delete
    2. At least with the sweet potatoes - they're still not as crispy as regular store bought fries, but they also hold up and don't turn to mush when you pick them up. Of course, I remember reading somewhere that you'd never be able to create the same fry as restaurants because their fries are usually flash frozen which will give it a different texture than if they're not.

      Delete
  5. Rutabaga is yellow-fleshed and strong where turnip is white and bland. We have always boiled and seasoned them with pork, until I learned to cook a rutabaga with a white potato and mash them together, season with butter. Fancy Atlanta restaurants used to feature 'whipped rutabaga' on their Thanksgiving menu. Rutabagas take well to seasoning with spices like coriander and annatto.

    The greens of turnips are milder than those of rutabaga. Rutabaga greens are similar to collards. They're all tasty and nutritious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never tried mashing potato in with the rutabaga. That sounds like a great idea. I'll try it.

      Delete
  6. Dang it Ally, now there is something else I have to try in the vegi garden. Where is the space, ugh.

    Nice to meet you today and enjoyed talking to you, Bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No matter how much I expand my garden there's just never enough room. I guess that's just how it goes with us crazy gardeners. I enjoyed meeting you as well. Hope to see you again soon.

      Delete
  7. My stepdad grew up in Minnesota and he introduced me and my Mom to rutabagas. He made them like you...mashed with butter, salt and pepper. They were good. Your garden is beautiful!

    We were talking of chickens the other day. When I came home my husband told me my neighbor lost a chicken during the night...we have a lot of coyote out here. He has a 6 foot fence though. Any thoughts?

    Also, I've added your blog several times to my blogroll but the feeds never show up there. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry about your neighbors chicken attack. What is the size of the wire on their fence? A raccoon can reach through many wire fences, including chicken wire. I've heard they'll even make a commotion to lure chickens out of their coop and over to the fence line at night. I recommend 1/2 inch hardware cloth over chicken wire or other wires with large holes. A raccoon can climb, so does the fence have a roof? Raccoon and coyote can dig under a fence, so that's a possibility too. Please check out my post on the building of our coop, perhaps some of our security ideas will be useful. http://www.gardenally.blogspot.com/2011/10/taj-ma-coop.html

      I just checked your blogroll. I saw my blog on your list, so it looks like it all worked out. Thanks for adding me to your list. Happy blogging.

      Delete
  8. I'll share your post with him...not sure of the particulars of his coop. I'm sure he'll appreciate the insight!

    ReplyDelete