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Hearty root, rutabaga maximizes flavor with cranberries
Many markets now have rutabagas for sale, and for those of you who aren’t familiar with rutabagas, they look like a large turnip.
Though rutabagas share the appearance of turnips, they most often have a more purplish or brownish coloring at the top with the bottom part of it being white.
The root vegetable offers a source of Vitamin C, potassium, calcium and protein, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rutabagas can be cubed or shredded to be served as a finger food with dip like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and others. But served as a cooked side dish with just about any meal, rutabagas offer a unique flavor – kind of spicy and sweet but not as hot as turnips.
One recipe I like is rutabagas and cranberries. Here’s what you’ll need to make this dish that resembles mash potatoes:
1 large or 2 medium rutabagas
1 oz. of Craisins® or other dried fruit
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoons of salt
Dash of pepper
Though rutabagas share the appearance of turnips, they most often have a more purplish or brownish coloring at the top with the bottom part of it being white.
The root vegetable offers a source of Vitamin C, potassium, calcium and protein, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rutabagas can be cubed or shredded to be served as a finger food with dip like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and others. But served as a cooked side dish with just about any meal, rutabagas offer a unique flavor – kind of spicy and sweet but not as hot as turnips.
One recipe I like is rutabagas and cranberries. Here’s what you’ll need to make this dish that resembles mash potatoes:
1 large or 2 medium rutabagas
1 oz. of Craisins® or other dried fruit
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoons of salt
Dash of pepper
The first thing you’ll do is peel the rutabagas. Then, cube them and place them in a pot of water and add your salt and pepper, cooking on medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the rutabagas are tender.
The rutabagas appear light orange when peeled, and when they’re tender, they’ll be darker orange in color.
Once the rutabagas are tender, drain the water from the pot and use a potato masher to mash up the vegetable cubes. Add your butter, letting it melt. Then, add the Craisins® and brown sugar. Stir and enjoy the aroma during this process.
In case you’re not familiar with Craisins®, they are dried, sweetened cranberries made by Ocean Spray – a nutritious snack all by themselves.
Once you add the Craisins® to the hot rutabagas, they plump up. The rutabaga and cranberry flavor together makes a nice combination.
With this recipe, you can get about four or five servings; to serve more double the recipe.
– Bobbie Whitehead
The rutabagas appear light orange when peeled, and when they’re tender, they’ll be darker orange in color.
Once the rutabagas are tender, drain the water from the pot and use a potato masher to mash up the vegetable cubes. Add your butter, letting it melt. Then, add the Craisins® and brown sugar. Stir and enjoy the aroma during this process.
In case you’re not familiar with Craisins®, they are dried, sweetened cranberries made by Ocean Spray – a nutritious snack all by themselves.
Once you add the Craisins® to the hot rutabagas, they plump up. The rutabaga and cranberry flavor together makes a nice combination.
With this recipe, you can get about four or five servings; to serve more double the recipe.
– Bobbie Whitehead
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