I don’t know about you, but when I started eating healthy, I had the palette of an unsophisticated six-year-old.I had never even heard of half of the vegetables I found on my first trip to Whole Foods and it took months for someone to instruct me on the proper pronunciation of quinoa.
However, I’ve come a long way since then and now make a point to try to incorporate a new food into my diet every month. It isn’t hard to do since all my prior experiences involve corn, taters and lots of butter.
Now that I’m a little further along in my healthy eating journey, I may it a habit to try new foods as often as possible. This week for Weird Food Wednesday, I’m cooking some of my favorite rutabaga recipes.
Rutabaga is an ugly vegetable, similar to and in the same family as beets and potatoes. It has the similar nutty, sweet taste like beets and therefore is easy to incorporate into your diet in a lot of different ways.
In fact, we’re willing to bet you can trick your spouse and kids into trying our rutabaga recipes without them even knowing.
Weird Food Wednesday: Rutabaga Recipes
Rutabaga Short Stacks
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Rutabaga makes a great white potato substitute. Although rutabagas are still considered a starchy vegetable, they come at a little less cost to your waistline — 33 carbs versus almost 40 in your average white potato.
These rutabaga short stacks are a yummy hashbrown substitute for Saturday morning.
Ingredients
- 1 rutabaga
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Directions
- Cut off the hard end of your rutabaga and then peel the rough exterior off using a peeler or a knife.
- Using a cheese grater or something similar, grate the rutabaga into fine pieces.
- In a bowl, combine the egg, rutabaga shreds, salt, pepper and garlic powder and stir together well.
- Using your hands, create small “patties”.
- In a cast iron skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium to high heat.
- Place each rutabaga patty in the hot oil and cook for three to five minutes before flipping to the other side. Expert tip: Like real hashbrowns, it’s okay if these don’t stay together perfectly. They taste delicious either way.
- Remove from heat onto a paper towel before serving.
Salt and Vinegar “Chips”
Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 rutabaga
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut off the hard end of your rutabaga and then peel the rough exterior off using a peeler or a knife.
- Using a shaver or a very sharp knife, cut your rutabaga into VERY thin slices. Expert tip: BE CAREFUL. Rutabagas are more like their sweet potato cousins than their white potato brethren in the sense that they can be very difficult to cut. Don’t try this with a dull knife, kids.
- Grease a baking sheet and lay the slices across it. Drizzle olive oil over the top.
- Mix the vinegar and salt together in a small container and use a brush to thoroughly coat the vegetables.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until you achieve your desired crispiness.
Rutabaga Ratatouille 
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 25 Minutes
There’s nothing prettier than a ratatouille. It’s a simple dish that goes great with any week day dinner and is fancy enough to serve for special occasions and when company comes over.
For this particular ratatouille, I incorporated some of my favorite vegetables, but feel free to sub ingredients or add your own! This dish is almost fool proof.
Ingredients
- 2 rutabagas
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice your vegetables thinly, trying to make them all roughly the same shape and size. Expert tip: We know this is not always possible, considering rutabagas come in every shape and size. Just do your best.
- Start layering the vegetables together. To achieve the “ratatouille” look, it’s best to start layering them in your hands and then gently place them in an oven safe dish. If you don’t care about presentation, throw them in there any way you want.
- Drizzle the olive oil, salt, rosemary and paprika over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes before serving.
Rutabaga Honey Dessert
Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Even the healthiest eaters sometime need a sweet snack. Since rutabagas tend to have sort of a sweet, nutty taste naturally, they’re perfect to pair with a healthy “sweet” ingredient. In this recipe, I’ve used honey, but fruit, cinnamon or nutmeg would also pair well with this dish.
Ingredients
- 1 rutabaga
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Directions
- Heat up your coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Cut off the hard end of your rutabaga and then peel the rough exterior off using a peeler or a knife.
- Cube the rutabaga and add it to the pan, stirring so that it’s evenly coated with coconut oil.
- Let the rutabaga cook for four to five minutes before serving with honey drizzled over the top. Yum!
Remember, if you try any of our Weird Food Wednesday recipes or find a new, fun way to cook with rutabaga, be sure to post a photo and tag us using the hashtag #WeirdFoodWednesday.