I was looking out my apartment window the other day when my gaze came to rest on a tree about fifteen feet away from the house.  I have to climb a set of stairs to get to my door, so when I look out the window I see branches and foliage at eye level rather than tree trunks.  This particular tree has elongated sage colored leaves that come to a point at both the tip and the stem.  I have looked at this tree hundreds if not thousands of times, along with the many many other trees visible from the window, but never really considered it.  But this particular day, something clicked, and when looking at the little black fruits hanging from the branches, I realized, ‘holy crap!  we have an olive tree in the back yard!’  I’ve been living here going on 18 months, and shockingly, I had never noticed it before!

Thats a little bit how I feel about rutabagas too — I walked past piles of them at the grocery store for years before ever picking one up.  And when I finally did try it, I found it to be delicious!  A humble, nutritious, adaptable, and hearty vegetable, the rutabaga is an under appreciated and under utilized vegetable.  Whether roasted, mashed, boiled, made into a gratin, or used as a soup base, rutabagas can be supremely tasty.

This soup, besides being tasty and more complexly flavored than you might expect from the short list of ingredients, is incredibly easy to prepare — coarsely chop some vegetables, saute, add stock, cook, add cream and spices, then puree.  Easy as… well, I would say pie, but this is WAY easier to make than pie! :)  Try it on a chilly fall evening with some crusty bread, a green salad, and a glass of red wine, and I am sure you will not be disappointed.

And one final comment about the olive tree — as trite as it may sound, you will often find surprises in places you were never looking for them, particularly right under your nose.  Take a good look at your surroundings — you might be surprised with what you find!

And one final final note: last week Modern Beet turned 1 year old!  Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and for all the thoughtful comments you have left!  I’ve had a lot of fun adding new recipes and musings to Modern Beet, and also learning from all you other wonderful cooks in the foodie blog world!

Rutabaga Bisque with Smoked Paprika
from Chow.com

3 T. butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 lb. rutabaga, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 c. low-sodium vegetable stock
2 c. half and half
1 t. ground white pepper
2 1/2 t. smoked paprika

Melt butter in a large soup kettle. Add the onions and celery, season with salt, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rutabaga and stock, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes until rutabaga can be easily pierced with a fork. Add half and half, white pepper, and smoked paprika then stir to blend. Puree the soup until smooth with an immersion or regular blender. Garnish with a bit of smoked paprika. Enjoy!

Honey Roasted Rutabaga

1 large rutabaga, peeled
3 T. butter
3 T. honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the rutabaga horizontally into 3/4 inch rounds. Slice each round into 3/4 inch pieces. Cut pieces in half horizontally if large.
Combine butter and honey in a medium-large bowl. Heat for 30 seconds or so until butter is melted. Stir to combine. Add rutabaga slices and toss to coat evenly.
Spread rutabaga pieces onto a lightly oiled or parchment lined baking sheet. Roast 35-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until slices have golden brown spots and are crispy around the edges. Enjoy!

Note: don’t drizzle the excess marinade over the slices, as it is likely to run off onto the pan and burn

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In all honesty, I’d never given rutabagas much thought until quite recently. Besides beets, root vegetables aren’t really my every day go-to’s, but I’ve started experimenting with turnips, parsnips, and rutabaga, with great results so far.

Rutabagas in particular never graced my shopping list because frankly, until a week ago I’m not sure if I could have identified one in a lineup of root vegetables alongside parsnips, celery root, turnips, etc. But as it goes, some of my coworkers have taken to calling another coworker ‘Rutabaga’ and I suppose I’ve had it on the brain. So, when I saw a big pile of rutabagas at the farmer’s market last weekend, I picked one up and decided now was as good a time as any to try something new.

Once home, I was confronted with the reality that I had no idea what to do with this massive root. I scoured the internet and ended up at one of my go-to sites, Mariquita Farms vegetable recipe index. I found recipes for purees, gratins, and much more, but settled on Julia’s own ‘Honeyed Rutabagas’ due to its simplicity and elegance.

The whole thing came together in less than five minutes, and turned out splendidly. With the first bite I knew I’d be making rutabaga more often. With this recipe in particular, I experienced both taste and texture juxtapositions; taste-wise, it is at the same time earthy and sweet, both from the honey glaze and the root itself; texture-wise, it is crispy on the outside, yet velvety smooth on the inside. Delicious!

I served the roasted rutabaga with a bowl of simple nettle soup, some fresh bread, and a glass of white wine for a light season-straddling (late-winter / early spring) dinner. It would also make a great accompaniment to roasted chicken or pork, though I tend to prefer a melange of little vegetable dishes to the traditional meat main course with a vegetable side. But, to each their own.