Tough as a Rutabaga!

Rutabaga is a tough root vegetable. In the turnip family it is the biggest of the bunch. It is an intimidating looking vegetable displayed on the produce shelf, and at close inspection you see that the entire surface of the veggie is coated with wax.

Many Christmas's ago, Tim gave me a cookbook entitled "Greene on Greens". (He always gives me the gift of a new cookbook, one of his liking, not necessarily one that is practical to use)

A vegetable cookbook authored by Bert Greene. As with most gifts for cooking, I browsed each page, looking for something that sounds like fun to make with only a few ingredients. One year just before Thanksgiving I pulled the book down and started browsing for an "earthy" side dish, something "Harvesty" for the Thanksgiving table. I came across this recipe and tried it. It was a big hit, especially with my husband, so I have endeavored to make it simple for myself over the years, and I am passing in on to all of you to take a stab at.
Last night was the "Let's get those rutabagas peeled, sliced and diced for the comfort food casserole that will be put together on Thanksgiving Day. The process is tedious to me as I started with seven rutabagas last night. This job usually falls on Tim's plate as he is stronger and has a tougher grip than I do, however he was in Illinois on his way home and the task had to be done in advance of the feast, so it was up to me.

You can't peel a rutabaga, you have to cut it in half, slice each half into even slices, then peel each slice removing the waxed coating and peel then dice it...in my case times 7!

Here is the recipe. It is very easy to make and so, so delicious!

Braised Rutabaga (the Judy Von Duyke adaptation)
1 or 2 rutabagas peeled and diced into 1-1/2 dice (don't get carried away it's not rocket science)

1 large yellow onion peeled and diced

4 strips of bacon cooked crisp (save the drippings for the roux)

2 cups chicken stock (you may need more if your roux is too thick, but then thick is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder)

10 leaves of chopped sage ( have sage growing in my herb garden that I have transplanted from two other homes we have had before this one) (if dry ground is all you have, only use 1/2 teaspoon)

3 tbls flour (again, you may need a little more flour if you have lots of drippings along with the melted butter)

1/2 stick butter

salt and pepper to taste (after you have made the dish, then season)

Cover the diced rutabaga with water and cook until fork tender
Drain completely
In a large heavy skillet, saute the onion with the butter and drippings from the bacon
until tender
add the flour to make a roux
when the roux has cooked over low/medium heat for a couple of minutes, add the chicken broth/stock (I have used canned, and also "box" broth and stock)

stir until thickened.

Crumble the bacon and add to the thickened sauce
Add the rutabaga and toss in pan until coated

stir in the sage at the last minute before serving

No need to cook further, just place into a serving dish and voila'
This may become a staple at your Holiday table because you will
have forgotten from one holiday to the next year's holiday what
a pain in the ass it is to prepare the rutabaga!