What the ……. rutabaga?

What the “rutabaga” are you thinking still eating white potatoes instead of rutabaga’s?  Who among you have heard or these veggies?  Anyone ever eaten them?  Well, I had not. Julie our Culinary Nutrition expert at GFM told me she had recently discovered this amazing little vegetable that I just had to try.  She proceeded to explain that rutabagas are loaded with vitamins like calcium and vitamin C among others. Unlike the starchy white potato these gems are actually good for you. 

I accepted her challenge and went looking for me a rutabaga.  Found them at Whole Foods Market and came home and tossed them in the vegetable bin in the refrigerator.  There they stayed for weeks.  Julie kept asking me if I’d made them yet?  Then it happen, I was home making dinner and had no idea what veg I was going to make when I remembered the rutabaga’s in the fridge.  It was time.  But, what to do with them? 

I decided to peel them and cube them like a potato.  I tossed them in olive oil, himalayan sea salt, course ground pepper and parsley.  Laid them out on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Baked those babies at 450 for about thirty minutes.  Tossing them over once.  

Here’s the thing at dinner my husband and son were digging in.  My man even said, “I don’t know what you did different to these potatoes, but they are great!”  My son said, “Yeah Mom, they are really good tonight.”  I didn’t have the heart to tell them they weren’t potatoes that night and continued to make them every other week.  Then it happen, my man wanted to know how I was preparing the potatoes that made them taste like that.  I had to come clean and tell him they weren’t potatoes they were rutabagas.  He said he had no idea what a rutabaga was, but knew he sure did like it.  

We had them like that again tonight and they cleaned their plates.  I feel good knowing how nutritious they are.  Julie said she smashed hers and made soup.  I’d say they would make a great mashed potatoes(not).  What do they taste like?  Roasted they cook up similar to a yukon gold potato.  They have a unique slightly sweet taste.  Raw they sort of look like a turnip. But do not taste anything like them.  Rutabagas are very mild in flavor and naturally gluten free. 

Seriously, you’ve just got to “Rutabaga“!  Cause, you don’t know what you are missing. 

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