A delicious way to enjoy this humble root vegetable! Rutabaga Home Fries is an easy breakfast skillet recipe with light seasoning and a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.
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Sturdy. Humble. That's a rutabaga! As part of my quest to learn more about the root vegetables that are abundant in winter produce markets and community farm shares, I grabbed a few rutabagas on impulse. Once I got them home, I realized—I had no rutabaga recipes! This isn't a veggie I ever ate growing up, nor is it one I see trending in the pages of cooking magazines or on social media.
(Have you ever seen that meme, "I wish I was the person I was when I bought these vegetables"? That's definitely me, so full of dreams and inspiration in the produce aisle, and then overwhelmed when once I have all those veggies in my house!)
I wanted to find a way to prepare them that would entice my family to try them (they are my reluctant companions on the quest to get to know root veggies!) Though rutabagas are certainly not potatoes, something about their firm texture and pale color got me thinking about potato dishes—and I found myself dreaming of home fries!
What is a rutabaga?
The rutabaga is a cruciferous vegetable in the brassica family—that's the same plant family as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips, and kohlrabi. Rutabagas are a cross between cabbage and turnips. This is instantly apparent when you begin cutting and peeling rutabagas—you catch that cabbage-like scent.
They're heavy root vegetables that are round or somewhat oblong in shape. On the outside rutabagas have shades of purple and green fading into off-white; inside the flesh is firm and white or pale yellow.
Rutabagas are a classic winter root vegetable, that mature in the first few cool months of fall and winter and then can be stored for use throughout the coldest winter months. They can be roasted, boiled and mashed, or even enjoyed raw—for example, grated and added to salads.
If you've ever had a true, New England boiled dinner, there's a good chance that rutabaga was included in the mixture of brisket, potatoes, and hearty root vegetables.
Get to the root!
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Why you'll love this recipe
A skillet home fries recipe, rutabagas are cubed, tossed in oil, seasoned, and browned until crispy to give them texture and savory flavor. They're also quickly steamed in the skillet to make them tender.
This rutabaga fries recipe is not only a great way to use up this winter root veggie (especially if you have a lot on hand from your CSA or stored from your garden) the recipe helps get more veggies on the plate. Rutabaga home fries are quite tasty for breakfast, and when served as a side dish alongside roasted chicken or other meaty roasts for dinner. Yum!
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🔪 How to make Rutabaga Home Fries
Ingredients:
- Rutabagas: Whenever possible, get rutabagas from farmer's markets or local agricultural shares where the produce is fresher and therefore better quality. Choose rutabagas that have no soft spots or sprouts.
- Vegetable oil: I like to use a neutral flavored type such as avocado oil or sunflower oil.
- Seasonings: This recipe keeps things simple with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Feel free to add other savory spices and spice blends, or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
- Parmesan cheese: Pick up a wedge of good Parmesan cheese and grate it fresh for the best flavor.
Prepare the rutabaga
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Peel the rutabaga, then slice it into cubes. Toss the cubes with oil and spices in a bowl.
Fry the rutabaga
Spread the seasoned rutabaga cubes in a hot skillet, and fry them, turning frequently to brown on all sides.
Steam and finish them
Pour a little water into the pan to briefly steam the fried rutabagas until they're tender. Stir in some grated Parmesan. Add more cheese over each serving and enjoy!
FAQs
You can use a vegetable peeler to quickly remove the tough peel from your rutabagas. Trim the ends off of the vegetable first—this will make it easier for the peeler to catch and remove the skin.
The flesh of a rutabaga is very firm, so it's important to use a sharp kitchen knife. Cut the rutabaga in half first; lay the flat side down to keep it steady, then slice the rutabaga into strips (to make rutabaga French fries) or cubes to make these Rutabaga Home Fries. Cubes are also ideal for boiling or roasting rutabagas.
If your skillet home fries just won't crisp up, it's likely for one of two reasons: too much moisture or the heat isn't high enough. Leave space between the home fries in the skillet so that moisture can easily evaporate away. The heat under the skillet should be set to medium-high, so that the surfaces of the home fries quickly sear and brown, creating that delectable, crispy exterior.
The flavor of rutabagas is usually described as sweet, especially when compared to turnips, another root veggie they're often confused with. Rutabagas also have notes of cabbage and pepper. This gives them a slightly more complex flavor than potatoes, but that flavor mellows with cooking and the vegetable can easily take on other spices and flavors in the recipe. Rutabagas can be prepared in many of the same ways as potatoes—roasted, fried, pan-fried, steamed, boiled, and mashed.
Tips:
- I use small, locally grown rutabagas that I find at a winter farmer's markets. They're much easier to peel and slice than the enormous rutabagas you find at the grocery stores. They're also more likely to be fresh with a better, sweeter flavor.
Admittedly, the first time I prepared this recipe my skeptical family didn't exactly come running when I called out, "Come here and try these rutabagas!" However, they're always good sports—when they did give them a whirl, they found to their surprise that they enjoyed their rutabaga breakfast!
The generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese over the Rutabaga Home Fries certainly didn't hurt! No, Parmesan cheese never hurt anyone.
The Rutabaga Home Fries recipe topped with Parmesan cheese is below! Here are more veggie recipes you should save:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Rutabaga Home Fries
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Ingredients
- 1½ pounds rutabagas, washed
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (such as avocado or sunflower)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
Prepare the rutabaga:
- Cut off the ends of the rutabagas and use a vegetable peeler to peel away the skins. Slice the rutabagas into 1-inch cubes. (You should have about 4 cups of cubed rutabaga.)
- Put the cubed rutabaga into a medium bowl. Add in the canola oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat the rutabagas thoroughly.
Cook:
- Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Have ready a cover for this pan and ½ cup of water.
- Add in the prepared rutabagas to the pan and spread them into an even layer to cook. Stir through the rutabagas every 2 to 3 minutes as the edges begin to brown, then spread them into an even layer again. Cook the rutabagas this way for a total of 10 minutes.
- Add the ½ cup water to the pan and quickly cover it. Steam the rutabagas for about 2 minutes or until they are fork-tender.
- Remove the cover and increase the heat slightly to help quickly cook away the water. After the water cooks away, spread the rutabagas to an even layer again. Cook them for 5 minutes more, stirring every minute or two to help all the sides brown and to allow moisture to cook off.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle half of the grated Parmesan over the home fries. Transfer them to a serving dish, and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Serve the home fries while they're warm.
- Yields 4 ½-cup servings
Notes
- I used small, locally grown rutabagas from farmer's markets and natural foods markets. They're much easier to handle than the enormous rutabagas you find at the grocery store.
Nutrition
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