Mashed Rutabagas A Family Favorite

It's not a holiday meal without mashed rutabagas.

The theme for Recipe Redux this month is "vintage side dishes" that have been a part of your family's holiday meals. For m family, mashed rutabagas have been a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables for as long as I can remember. My mother’s mother started the tradition. I’m not sure how the tradition started in my mother’s family, but I suspect they grew rutabagas in their backyard in the Bronx, New York. For me and my brothers, it isn’t a “traditional” thanksgiving dinner unless mashed rutabagas are part of the meal. As kids, my brothers and I would fight about who had to peel the potatoes and who had to peel the rutabagas. They rutabagas were always harder – they were awkward to handle and it took a lot of effort to cut them into cubes.

Mashed rutabagas in my family are nothing fancy. You simply boil the peeled and cubed whole rutabagas, mashed them once tender, and add some milk, margarine, salt and pepper. Then, most of us pour turkey gravy over them just before eating them. We’ve had various friends and neighbors over to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family over the years and there is always a question about the rutabagas. The rest of the meal is fairly “traditional” with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a green vegetable (broccoli or green beans), mashed potatoes and gravy. But, the rutabagas just don't seem to be that common in many families.

Rutabagas are nutritious, no surprise here. One cup of cooked rutabagas, before adding margarine or butter or salt, provides only 72 calories, no fat, 4.3 grams of dietary fiber, 518 mg of potassium, and 45 mg of vitamin C.

Click here to download the complete Mashed Rutabagas recipe.

Here are some prep photos:

Mashed rutabaga preparation is easy.

 Be sure to check out these other side dishes from other Recipe Reduxers. get the InLinkz code