Rooting for Rutabagas

This winter let’s change our minds about rutabagas. The humble rutabaga often gets passed over in favor of its sexier root-vegetable cousins, like turnips or potatoes, but it’s time for a rutabaga renaissance. It’s time to root for rutabagas!

Also known as Swedes or yellow turnips, these nutritional powerhouses are packed with fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. Their flavor is a cross between a turnip and a butternut squash, and they overdeliver in value: a hefty rutabaga will rarely set you back more than a couple of bucks.

And let’s face it: rutabaga is fun to say.

Most often we see rutabaga boiled and mashed, languishing on a sideboard as a bit player in the Thanksgiving mise en scene, but I find it reaches its full flavor potential when roasted to coax out its inherent sweetness.

Rutabagas are in season October through March, but they’re best enjoyed in the dead of winter. Look for ones that are firm and have a purplish tinge to the skin. The skin comes off easily with a vegetable peeler, but you will need a good knife to cut through the sturdy yellow flesh.

In this recipe, we salad-ify our rutabaga, roasting cubes at a high heat until burnished and tender. Couscous provides added heft, and the trio of smoky almonds, sweet dates and salty cheese bring complexity to every bite. It’s also endlessly riff-able: Try farro or another grain instead of couscous, hazelnuts or walnuts in place of the almonds, dried apricots or figs as a substitute for the dates. A little crispy bacon would go nicely, as well. This salad sings at room temperature and makes a great leftover lunch, just hold off on adding the greens until right before serving.