Rutabaga and Apple Hash

It’s a bit sweet and a bit sassy. It’s a mouth full of flavor and texture that lends to beaucoup amounts of pairings. Top it with an egg for breakfast, or as a side to braised beef, baked chicken, or broiled fish.

Rutabagas were a bit of a mystery vegetable to me until about 8 years ago when Vivian Howard featured them on her show A Chef’s Life. Prior to that I vaguely knew of them from reading about them in books so of course I had to get my paws on some. They taste very similar to cabbage, but not as sweet and are a firm root vegetable which allows you to play a little more with texture.

Depending on where you live, rutabagas can be a bit tricky to find. If they aren’t in your usual grocery, try Sprouts, Fresh Thyme, or a health food store.

Tip: You can easily double the rutabaga portion of the dish. Eat ½ of it as roasted rutabagas and use the remainder of the vegetable for the hash on day 2.

Rutabaga and Apple Hash Ingredients
rutabagas:
1 rutabaga (about 28 ounces)
2 Tbl oil
¼ t salt
¼ tsp red pepper (cayenne)
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
¾ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp turmeric

sauteed apples:

2 Tbl butter (divided)

½ a medium onion (want ¾ c chopped)

1 large apple
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp rosemary

Hash:

Roasted rutabagas
Sauteed apples
15.5 ounces large butter beans
1 c rough chopped pecans
Green onions (¾ c chopped)
½ c buckwheat flour
2 eggs
Grapeseed oil
Parsley (garnish)
Lemon (juice)

Rutabega and Apple Hash Directions
Heat the oven to 350.  Bake until the skin pulls away from the rutabaga and you can poke it with a knife with medium resistance. If the skin starts burn, cover it with aluminum foil.

After you remove them from the oven, turn it to 450 degrees.

Slice off both ends off of the rutabaga. Peel off the loose skin and remove the rest with a knife. Slice it into ⅓” rounds. Stack three rounds on top of each other and slice into ⅓” strips. Cut across to create ⅓” cubes. Put them bunched in the center of a ½ sheet pan.

Drizzle 2 Tbl of oil on top of the rutabegas. In a saucer mix ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp basil, ¾ tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp turmeric. Sprinkle it on top of the rutabegas and mix.

Spread them in a single layer. They’ll be touching a little with some spaces. While this is not usually good for roasted vegetables, you want them like this. Rutabegas are hard little suckers so you want them to steam and soften before they start to brown.

Put them in the oven and roast until they are lightly browned. Remove them from the oven.

Slice off both ends of the onion. Remove the dry skin. Put it cut side down and slice it pole to pole Cut across to get ¾ c of diced onion.

Melt 1 Tbl of oil in a frying pan (cast iron works really well). You want the butter to bubble a little. Add the onion and you should hear a sizzle. If it doesn’t hear a mild sizzle, increase your heat.

Stand the apple upright and slice into ⅓” planks. Stack them and cut to make ⅓” cubes.

Cut off the dry ends of garlic. Hold the knife flat on it and give the knife a good whack with your hand. Remove the dry skin. Rock your knife back and forth until you get a fine mince.

When the onion is light brown, reduce the heat. Add onion, garlic, 1/tsp cardamom, 1 tsp rosemary, and 1 Tbl of butter. You should no longer hear sizzling.

Drain 1 can of butter beans. Put them in a bowl and mash them with a fork.

Slice off the roots of the green onions Then cut the white and green part into small rounds. Add ¾ c to the bowl. Add ½ c of buckwheat flour and 2 eggs to the beans. Mix until incorporated.

When the apples are soft add them and the rutabegas to the bowls. Mix well. Taste. Add salt if needed.

Heat your frying pan (same one you used to cook the onions) to high and add oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When oil is hot, add a layer of the rutabega mixture into a “single layer” It won’t be super thin because the rutabegas are chunky. When the bottom is a dark brown, flip it. It will break apart.

When both sides are brown, add it to a paper towel lined dish. Repeat until you have no mixture.

If you want to do patties, it is possible, but tricky. Small patties are far easier to keep together than large ones. Use a small heaping serving spoon to drop patties into the oil. Don’t touch it until the underside is down, then flip it.

To serve, squeeze a little lemon and top with chopped parsley.

Notes
Use any high heat oil you like. No need to make it complicated.

No buckwheat flour? No problem. Use whatever you have. I like buckwheat for the flavor but it doesn’t make a very pretty color and not everyone likes it. If you’re unsure if buckwheat is for you or not, this is a great trial for it because there are so many other flavors happening.