I often think about my ancestors, most of them real Farm Women, and how they managed to survive on what they grew in this cold climate with such a short growing season. If the weeds took over the garden, they wouldn’t have beans to can. If the potatoes got blight, their children’s’ stomachs would growl. They always had rutabagas, though, to get them through the tough times. I even have a letter written by my great-grandmother who was worrying about the rutabaga crop one cold and cloudy summer. Rutabagas are the most versatile vegetable I know. You can boil them, roast them with olive oil and garlic, fry them, eat them raw or pickle them. Although I’ve never tried it, I’ve heard you can even eat the greens. They are easy to grow and are great keepers. I don’t think there is anyone in northern Minnesota who doesn’t know what a rutabaga is. For my other readers, a rutabaga is kind of like a turnip, but larger and sweeter. When I lived in the south, I could only occasionally find them in the grocery store. They didn’t taste as good, either. I think it had to do with the weather, since their strong flavor changes to a sweet mildness if left in the ground until after a good hard frost. In Great Britain, they call them “Swedes”. In Sweden, they called them kalrot. In northern Michigan, Auntie Olive called them “beggies” and made the most wonderful pasties with finely diced pieces of rutabaga and potato. Those of Scandinavian heritage often boil them, mash them with butter and sprinkle with grated nutmeg. I prefer them mashed with potatoes and butter, about a 50/50 ratio of rutabaga and potato with salt and lots of pepper. When I married my southern-born husband, I made this for dinner one evening and was surprised when he didn’t like it. He didn’t like pasties, either. I wondered for a moment if I should have the marriage anulled, but decided in the interest of marital harmony to use fewer rutabagas in my cooking. There is one recipe that I must have my beloved rutabaga in, and that is beef stew. I always use my mom’s recipe. She calls it “Brown Stew”, but I changed the name to “Rutabaga Stew”. It sounds much more interesting, don’t you think? I guarantee it will make a rutabaga lover out of you. When I made this a couple of weeks ago, I saw my husband serve himself a bowl without picking out the rutabagas. Maybe he didn’t notice, but maybe, just maybe, he’s beginning to like them.
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Rutabaga Stew
2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2″ cubes
2 T. Oil
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, diced
2 bay leaves
2 t. salt, 2 t. pepper
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. allspice or cloves
1 T. dried or 2 T. fresh parsley
4-6 cups water
6 carrots, quartered
4 potatoes, quartered
1 rutabega, cut into cubes the same size as the potatoes
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. water
1 T. lemon juice
Thoroughly brown meat on all sides, add Worcestershire, onion, garlic and seasonings and water, simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables and continue cooking until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes to one hour. Remove meat and vegetables. Bring the liquid to a boil. Mix 1/4 c. flour and 1/2 c. water together until no lumps remain, add to boiling liquid to thicken. Return meat and vegetables, heat through. Add lemon juice last. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Ohhhh Gurl! I will most certainly add rutabagas to beef stew, no problem! AND, I will add a bay leaf or so and a sprinkle of allspice as well. I love rutabagas in all shapes and forms, even making rutabaga fritters with cold mashed rutabagas. AND, just this last week a cousin brought Mama a whole mess of rutabaga greens that she cooked up with a big pan of (you guessed it) cracklin cornbread. They are delicious with a smooth texture to the thin leaf similar to kale, but a lighter collard-y green flavor. Thank you, again, for the recipe. Hugs from the Deep South!
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Thanks, Mary. I LOVE collards, and will soon have to write a story about my first experience with collards and a real soul-food get together, when I asked in my very Yankee accent what those greens were in the pot…..they laughed and laughed (so did I) and I ate collard greens and cornbread and pot likker until my belly hurt,
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You shoule try the greens, just cook them like you would any leafy green. They are so good.
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I will, because I love greens. I just never knew that rutabaga greens were edible. Duh! Why didn’t I know that?
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I grew up eating rutabagas. Turnips too. Mom always put them around the roast, then served them up in a big bowl. Butter, salt and pepper. That’s how we gobbled them down. We didn’t grow them in our garden so I’m not sure where mom got them. Maybe some of their farmer neighbors grew them. I don’t remember seeing them in the grocery stores during the ’40s. Mom kept all those root vegetables in the root cellar. They stayed good all winter. I really enjoy your blog. Reminds me of growing up in MN.
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Thanks, Sandra. I remember my mom putting them around on the platter. So many moms don’t even cook these days…..
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Girl, I LOOOOOVVVEEE me some “rooterbeggers” And yes, the greens are delicious. I love to cook the tops and the roots together. I tried growing then last year and they didn’t do very well. It took so long for them to mature that the roots got a little woody. Rutabagas are one of my all time favorite vegetables. I can’t believe your husband the Southerner doesn’t like them. You better check his birth certificate.
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I’ve never been a lover of rutabagas or turnips – but I only had them cooked – and now that I experiment more with spices etc, it might be worth a try – never too old to learn new ways. Your recipe sounds so good – so might have to try it –
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Turnips are strong-tasting to me, but the rutabaga is sweet. Also try roasting chunks with other root vegetables like carrots, onions, and garlic. Yum!
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Reblogged this on Just another Day on the Farm and commented:
love this recipe for a great turnip stew.. hope you will too..
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