Frankly speaking, I’ve never eaten rutabaga, ever. It’s just one of those things…that you keep on telling yourself, you’ll try, but you just never get around to doing it. Well I got around to doing it this time and my only take on it, don’t buy large over-mature rutabagas. They will be fibrous and will never be appropriate for a mash. Buy young tender ones of about 4cm in diameter. I wish you a happy cooking.

Step By Step Photos 

Peel the rutabaga (swede) using a vegetable peeler

That was easy…isn’t it?

Now the difficult part. Slice it in half. Mine was so tough….

I had to use a hammer to split it into two. Be careful…don’t chop off your fingers

Cut each half into slices

Then into strips

Then into cubes of more or less equal size

Put the cubes into a pot and add enough water just to cover them.

And boil for 40-50 minutes. It will depend on how mature the rutabaga is. Mine took 60 minutes because it was so tough and fibrous on the inside.

It turns into a beautiful yellow colour but smells more or less like Brussels sprouts

Mash with butter and season with some salt and pepper to taste. Some people mash it with butter and brown sugar….I wanted mine savoury. You can plop in a tablespoon or two of sour cream. It gives it that nice zing… and give it a grinding of Parmesan cheese. Oh la la la!

Rutabaga is not a starchy vegetable. It has over 90% water, very little carbohydrate, a fair amount of sugar and dietary fibre. So the mash will not look smooth like a potato mash.

Serve hot as a side topped with some Parmesan cheese.

myfavouritepastime.com Last Updated: December 28, 2018