Rutabaga Turmeric Mash

I'm in love with turmeric. Not only is it the trendiest spice because of its outstanding health benefits, it's also a darling because of the bright yellow color it gives to food. Now do you want to be trendy and darling? Then dust turmeric over all of your yellow and orange tinged foods. You are so trendy. You are so darling. 

Are you familiar with the lowly rutabaga? This beautiful globe is lit by the sunlight in my kitchen. How lovely.

Get a sharp knife and hack off the two ends. Don't be alarmed if your rutabaga is covered in wax. It's the grocers trying to keep your rutabaga fresher longer which is totally lame, because I wish my rutabaga was from a farmer's market, but I live in Minnesota. In March. There are no fresh rutabagas at the farmer's market. This one was almost as good. Almost.

Now you'll want a sharp paring knife or a really good potato peeler to continue your hacking.

Slice the peeled rutabaga in half, then slice into spears.

Slice those spears into chunks. Good job. You're a good slicer.

Now throw your chunks into a microwave safe bowl if you want to steam your chunks in the micro. Don't cover it with plastic wrap - like I did in this photo. Bad idea. Use a dinner plate. You're smart. 

After you've steamed the chunks for about 10 minutes, remove from the microwave and leave it on the countertop, covered, to continue steaming until fork-tender, about 10 more minutes. Now you're serving a trendy, darling, smart side dish.

How do you like to steam your vegetables?

Printable Recipe Here

Rutabaga Turmeric Mash

1 4-pound rutabaga

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons 1/2 & 1/2 or heavy cream

1 teaspoon turmeric

Kosher salt and ground white pepper

Using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler, peel the outer fibrous layer from the rutabaga. Cut the rutabaga in half, then lay it on its flat side to continue cutting into spears, then cut into 1” chunks. Place the rutabaga in a medium-sized bowl and cover with about 3” of water. Place a dinner plate atop the bowl to seal in steam, and microwave for 10 minutes. Remove bowl to counter and cover with a kitchen towel to continue steaming, about 10 more minutes, until fork tender. Drain. Add butter, cream, and spices and mash with a potato masher until desired consistency, some chunks are OK. Serve immediately.