Rutabagas!

Ok, anyone raise their hands if they have ever eaten a rutabaga. The only folks I know who have are our farmer Lee and my father. Growing up my father always talked about how good they are, yet he never prepared any for us. When he was visiting recently he had the chance to talk to Lee about them and it sounds like my dad also really likes saying the word “rutabaga” as it was peppered generously in conversations throughout his visit.

It is believed that it is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage (another brassica!) and that it originated in Scandinavia or Russia. Although introduced to England at least by 1669 it wasn’t until the18th century when it became more widely known. For the U.S. it was in 1817 that it was reported as being grown in Illinois.

Most of its popularity is in Britain and Scandinavia and so most of the recipes that follow are from those regions. There is a twisted path of its etymology, so many regional names for it. Rutabaga is how we know it in the U.S. and is from the Swedish word “rotabagge”, or “root ram”, though the Swedes usually call it “kålrot” meaning "cabbage root". Because of its origin, in England, Wales, Australia, and New Zealand tend to call it “swede”. In Ireland it is either called “tumshie” or “neep” (see recipe below.) An archaic term in North-East England is “snaggers”.

According to Wikipedia,

In continental Europe, it acquired a bad reputation during World War I when it became a food of last resort. In the German Steckrübenwinter (rutabaga winter) of 1916–17, large parts of the population were kept alive on a diet consisting of rutabagas and little else, after grain and potato crop failures had combined with wartime effects. After the war, most people were so tired of rutabagas that they came to be considered "famine food," and they have retained this reputation to the present day.

Let’s start a Rutabaga Revival!

Rutabagas can be roasted, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, mashed, or stewed, and of course eaten raw. I am excited to try them; tonight our Co-op housemates will be trying the following recipe for Neeps and Tatties which when combined together with cheese makes Clapshot.

Tatties

  • 600g mashing potato, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 60 ml milk
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • a generous pinch of grated nutmeg
  • salt

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with cold water, bring the water to the boil then reduce it to a strong simmer. Leave the potatoes to cook for 20-30 minutes until they are tender. Drain the potatoes well and return them to the pan. Return the pan to the low heat and dry the potatoes for a couple of minutes. Add the butter and milk to the pan and mash the potatoes with a fork or potato masher. Add the nutmeg and a little salt to the potatoes and beat them to a smooth mash.

Neeps

  • 600g Swede (turnip), peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 3cm ginger, peeled and chopped or ground ginger
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the Swede (turnip) in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Place the pan over a high heat and bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to a strong simmer and leave the Swede to cook for 20-30 minutes until they are tender. Drain Swede and return them to the pan. Place the saucepan over a low heat and cook the Swede to dry it out for a couple of minutes. Add the butter and ginger to the pan and cook them with the Swede for a minute. Mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher. Season the Neeps with a little salt and pepper and beat it until smooth. Clapshot

Tatties and Neeps

  • 150g cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat a grill to high. Mix together "Tatties and Neeps" until they are well combined. Place the mixture in an oven proof container and cover it with the grated cheese. Place the container under the hot grill and cook it until golden brown. Serve

This recipe came from CSA member Jeanne Clark, in which turnips and rutabagas are interchangeable (as they are in most recipes.)

Lanttulaatikko (Finnish Casserole for Christmas)

  • 2 (approx. 1 pound) rutabagas
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup half-and-half
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar or corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Slice and pare rutabagas; cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat 1 inch salted water to boiling. Add rutabagas. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain rutabagas, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Mash rutabagas with reserved liquid or puree through food mill or blender. Stir remaining ingredients except butter into rutabagas. Pour into greased 1 1/2-quart casserole; dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees F until top is light brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Original Pasty

  • 3 c. flour
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter (cold and cut into bits)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 6 tbsp. water

In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and salt. Blend ingredients until well combined and add water, one tbsp. at a time to form a dough. Toss mixture until it forms a ball. Knead dough lightly against a smooth surface with heel of the hand to distribute fat evenly. Form into a ball, dust with flour, wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes.

Filling

  • 1 lb. round steak, coarsely ground
  • 1 lb. boneless pork loin, coarsely ground
  • 5 carrots, chopped
  • 2 lg. onions, chopped
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 c. rutabaga, chopped (can substitute turnip)
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, and roll one of the pieces into a 10-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Put 1 1/2 cups of filling on half of the round. Moisten the edges and fold the unfilled half over the filling to enclose it. Pinch the edges together to seal them and crimp them decoratively with a fork. Transfer pasty to lightly buttered baking sheet and cut several slits in the top. Roll out and fill the remaining dough in the same manner. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Put 1 tsp. butter through a slit in each pasty and continue baking for 30 minutes more. Remove from oven, cover with a damp tea towel, cool for 15 minutes.

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