creamy, garlicky rutabaga mash

Why eat a rutabaga?

My research informs me that rutabaga is loaded with vitamins and fiber, lower in calories than mashed potatoes (even with the butter), fights cancer, and keeps you young and beautiful.

Oh, and it’s also delicious.

Although I’d seen them in the store, I never had a clue about what to do with a rutabaga until I lived in Norway. This large, round, purplish-tannish globe, covered with a thick layer of wax, looked totally intimidating. a

My romance with this root vegetable began the first time a large dollop of rutabaga mash was spooned onto my plate at a family-style Norwegian restaurant. It looked quite a lot like mashed potatoes, but the beautiful yellow color told me this was something else. It was creamy and buttery like the mashed spuds I’d known and loved, but with an intense flavor that was a little bit sweet and a little bit sharp, and lighter, less carb-heavy than potato.

If you’ve got a whole nutmeg and a microplane, you already know that the flavor of freshly ground nutmeg is miles beyond that of the pre-ground stuff. If you can put a small piece of cinnamon stick and a few seeds from a crushed cardamom pod into a spice grinder, do it. If ground spices are all you have, use them. I won’t judge you!

Rutabaga mash is easy to make and requires no special skills. All you need is a vegetable peeler, a good knife, a pot, and a potato masher.

To get them creamy, it’s important to cook your rutabaga until it is very soft, even falling apart. You can also add one small/medium potato into the pot with the rutabaga to give it a bit more body and even more creaminess. I do this sometimes, but not all the time.

If you haven’t done so yet, I recommend you give them a try.

Ingredients:

• 1large rutabaga

• 3 or 4 tablespoons butter or plant-based butter

• 3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or put through a garlic press

• 1medium/small potato, optional

• ½ cup (or more) half and half, milk, plant-milk, or your favorite stock

• kosher salt

• black pepper, (preferably)freshly ground

• a bit each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom (see above notes)

Method:

• Peel the waxy skin from the rutabaga and dice it into 1 inch cubes. If you’re using a potato, do the same with it.

• Put the cut rutabaga (and potato if using) into a pot and add fresh cold water to cover.

• Add about ½ teaspoon kosher salt to the pot and stir it through.

• Then, turn on the heat and bring it to a boil. Let the rutabaga simmer for about 20—25 minutes, until it’s fork tender.

• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan, add the garlic and cook it over a low light for several minutes to infuse the butter with the garlic flavor. Don’t let your garlic turn brown or it will be bitter.

• When the rutabaga is tender, drain the water, return the cubes to the pot, and begin to mash it with a potato masher. Pour in the garlic butter and keep mashing.

• Then add your milk or stock and keep mashing. Add the cinnamon and cardamom. Give it a few twists of the pepper mill, taste for salt, and add more if you think it needs it. Keep mashing until the rutabaga is very smooth and silky. If it seems too thick, add a little more liquid. If it doesn’t seem buttery enough, add a little more. The amounts given are a guide; they’re not written in stone. Adjust to your own taste.

• Turn the rutabaga mash into a serving dish and grate a little fresh nutmeg over the top. Use a light hand because a little is good and a lot is overpowering.

• Rutabaga mash is an excellent side for just about anything.