surprise rutabagas

Always in search of new ideas I use my dinner parties as a laboratory for experimentation. I rarely prepare the same dish twice, & never the same way; meals are inspired by the mood of the moment & ingredients found in the markets. It usually turns out fine, but sometimes I am surprised.

Last week I was planning to make roasted lamb tenders for a company dinner & thought I’d make turnips on the side, along with a minted fava bean puree. But how to prepare the turnips in a new & interesting way was the question. On a whim I turned to the Craigslist food forum & asked for favorite turnip recipes. Many replied; one person asked, “why not try rutabagas instead?” While that response didn’t answer my question it did provide inspiration. With all my years in the kitchen I’d never cooked rutabagas, & here was the perfect opportunity.

“How?” I asked. Her post appeared immediately; she told me how she prepares them, that they were sweet & dense, said everybody who ate her rutabagas loved them; she never had left any over, and if I made them would I please report back.

Luckily, on the day of the dinner I put the rutabagas in the oven early & one of my guests was an hour late, so I was able to bake the rutabagas for a long time, much longer than instructed. I kept returning to the kitchen to check them, shocked at how long they were taking. My friend Huli, a great cook who used to be a caterer & cooking teacher, came into the kitchen & told me that people usually leave out a step when they give out their favorite recipes.

“A Craigslist person wouldn’t do that,” I said. Huli just smiled.

Finally, after more than 2 hours – 3 times longer than what the Craigslist lady had said – the rutabagas became tender, turned golden & caramelized, just in time to be served. They were out-of-this-world delicious; everyone loved them; there wasn’t one left over. In fact, nothing of that dinner was left over.

Next day I wrote back to the Craigslist lady; I thanked her for the suggestion to make rutabagas instead of turnips, & told her by how much the cooking time was off. “Where did I go wrong,” I asked. “Oh,” she replied, “I use a trick. I nuke them in the microwave first.” Why she neglected to mention that in the first place is beyond me – but not my friend Huli who knows about these things.

Having said that, here’s how to make roasted rutabagas: I’d use at least 1 large or 2 medium sized rutabagas per person. Peel, cut them into fingers, like French fries, parboil or nuke in the microwave (i don't know how long), drain, place in wide shallow roasting pan, roll in good extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, & roast in a hot oven until tender & caramelized – about 45 minutes.

Do you believe me?