Rutabaga and caramelized onions

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

1 3/4 pounds onions, halved, thinly sliced

2 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces

2 tablespoons honey

Melt 5 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until brown, 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add rutabagas; sauté until heated through, about 10 minutes. Drizzle honey over. Gently stir in onions. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium-low heat.)

“Lanttulaatikko” (Finnish Rutabaga Casserole)

A spiced rutabaga casserole traditionally eaten at Christmas.

2 lbs.rutabaga (in Finnish, lanttu), peeled, washed
1 tsp salt
soft butter to grease the oven dish
6 tbsp + 2 tsp dark syrup molasses
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp milk
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
a generous pinch of ground white pepper and salt to taste

To put on top:
3 tbsp breadcrumbs (use gluten free if you need)
a few (3-4) slivers of butter

1. Put diced rutabaga in a big enough pan. Put enough water to cover them all and add 1 tsp salt. Put on medium high heat. Cook the rutabaga until it is very soft so that you can mash, for about 30 minutes. When cooked, drain the water and transfer to a big bowl.

2. Preheat the oven to 350C. Grease a 20x30cm oven dish and put aside.

3. Mash the rutabaga well. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir well.

4. Pour into greased baking dish and sprinkle bread crumbs on top and add butter slivers.

5. Bake in oven 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes until top is nicely browned. Serve warm

Rutabaga Waldorf Salad

1/2 c mayonaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c shredded cabbage
1 c peeled, diced apple
1/2 c coarsely grated peeled rutabaga
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c toasted peanuts
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Put mayo in a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, a little at a time, stirring until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, apple, rutabaga, raisins, and peanuts. Add the mayo mixture and toss to coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving.

here's a clever take on the classic Waldorf Salad. Bring it to your next picnic instead of the same old coleslaw or potato salad. If you like, grapes and walnuts are more traditional than raisings and peanuts. From the Farmer John Cookbook - a great season-eating resource!!

Root Vegetable Gratin

2 1/4 pounds root vegetables, peeled and shredded (The original recipe calls for 3/4 pound each sweet potatoes, celeriac, and turnips, but many combinations will work well. Parsnips, carrots, and rutabagas are all good in this dish.)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (It has to be heavy cream. Half and half will curdle.)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
Optional topping: 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon dry breadcrumbs

 Preheat oven to 400/ F.
In a large bowl, combine the shredded vegetables, cream, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
Spoon mixture into a shallow gratin dish or baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.
Optional: remove dish from oven, heat broiler, combine cheese and breadcrumbs, sprinkle over the vegetables, and boil uncovered until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Mixed Roots Gratin

5 tbsp olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
8 oz chantrelles, oyster, or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1c dry white wine
1 1/2 lb roots (incl potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, turnips), peeled and thinly sliced
6 oz grated cheddar or gruyere cheese

 Lightly oil a deep-sided baking dish. Heat oven to 400F. Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in skillet; add onions and mushrooms and saute over high heat 5-6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add half the wine and boil it off, stirring it well. Spoon a thin layer of the mixture into baking dish. Arrange root slices over mushroom layer, alternating and overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle with a little garlic, moisten with wine and a few drops of olive oil and top with grated cheese. Season lightly. Repeat the process, reserving some cheese to finish. Bake 35 min or until soft and golden. Four servings.

Grated Rutabaga and Potato Salad

2 medium-sized potatoes
water to cover
3 cups grated rutabagas
1 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
3 Tbsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. yogurt
salt, pepper to taste

Cook potatoes in water to cover until tender. Drain and reserve liquid for soup. peel adn grate potatoes and combine with remaining ingredients. TOss together lightly. Chill and serve. 6 servings

From: Rodale's Naturally Great Foods

Winter Root Soup

2 leeks, washed, trimmed, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
2 turnips, sliced
1 rutabaga, sliced
3 parsnips, sliced
4 tbsp butter
1-1/2 quarts chicken stock or combination water/stock
several thyme sprigs tied together
4 cloves garlic, mashed
pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt and pepper
pinch nutmeg

Melt butter in large, stainless steel pot and add leeks, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and parsnips. Cover and cook gently about 1/2 hr over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add stock, bring to a boil and skim. Add, garlic, thyme and cayenne. Simmer, covered, for about 1/2 hr until the vegetables are soft. Season to taste.

from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.

Harvest Dinner Stuffed Winter Squash

Preheat the oven to 375. Halve butternuts and scoop out the seeds. Eye the squash to decide the amount of stuffing you will need. Place in a baking dish, skin side down, and cover with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes until still firm, but starting to soften. Meanwhile….

Either use leftover whole grains or cook some up fresh. My preference is a mix of wild  or purple rice and brown rice, but I have used barley, whole grain wheat, rye and millet. 

Sauté leeks or onions, garlic and a mix of vegetables (all cut up fine) in olive oil. My preference is carrots, sweet potatoes and kale with a smaller amount of rutabaga, celeriac and turnip. Mix in a cheese of choice. Feta is delicious; soft, flavored goat cheese great. Mix in the grains. Add a smattering of unusual goodies like capers, dried cranberries, golden raisins or cherries. Add curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle some pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on top.

Fill the squash and cover with foil. I have loaded the entire top of the baking dish when I’ve made too much filling and it has worked just fine. Cook until the squash is soft. Take the cover off and cook for 3-5 minutes more. 

This is from our own Karen Romanowski. It's the recipe she used to make the stuffed squash at our harvest dinner in November. (Karen Levine loved this one!!)  She says " it's a non-recipe recipe. The ingredients are very flexible, as are the amounts. Stuff any winter squash. Butternuts are great, but it’s been delicious in all varieties. It can be more grain-y or more vegetable-y, use whatever you have, just don’t forget a little curry powder."

Curry Root Fries

1 onion, cut into half-circles
2 med or 1 lg parsnip
1 sweet potato
1 turnip
1 rutabaga
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp warm coconut oil
2 tspn lemon juice
4 tspn apple cider vinegar
fresh cilantro, chopped

Spice Mix
1 tbsp cumin
1 tspn garlic powder
1/2 tspn smoked paprika
     (regular paprika is fine too)
1/2 tspn hot cayenne
1/2 tspn ginger
1/2 tspn salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 2 baking dishes with coconut oil. Chop the roots into thin, long fries.  Toss the veggies together with garlic and onion.  Evenly distribute on both dishes. Whisk together coconut oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.  Pour on the fries. Distribute the spice mixture over the fries.  Use your hands to mix in the seasoning. Bake for 25-30 min.  Toss the fries halfway through with spatula. Garnish with cilantro. Makes about 12 servings

From Archerfriendly - http://www.archerfriendly.com/2010/02/curry-root-fries