Rutabaga Fries

More About This Recipe

• Perhaps these Rutabaga Fries aren’t the prettiest things.
  
  They might be the ugly duckling of foods, like meatloaf – so delicious and yet…so unfortunate looking. Most definitely not a cartstopper. But this is also most definitely a recipe that can’t be judged by its looks.
  
  I tried rutabaga for the first time about two years ago. It was at the husband’s grandmother’s house — the same place where I tried rhubarb for the first time about three years ago. Apparently Grandma Marlyn’s home is the place to get crazy with new foods (I also tried a glass of Chocovine, a.k.a. chocolate wine, there for the first time — though that experience, I’m sorry to say, wasn’t as positive).
  
  Rutabaga itself is an ugly thing to behold at first glance. It looks like a big, gnarly bulb; anything but appetizing. But peel away the layers and inside is a bright golden vegetable just begging to be baked or roasted. One of my favorite ways to eat this root vegetable is tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven until it’s warm and soft and caramelized.
  
  The other way is like this: In fry form. Because let’s be honest, like bacon, anything in fry form is always a good choice.
  
  There are a few ways to approach this recipe:
  
  Chop up the rutabaga into fry-like slices, toss them with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and chili powder or paprika, then bake them.
  Dredge them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs like I did for that lovely crunchy-soft texture dynamic. The husband wouldn’t stop talking about the “texture” — it’s that good.
  
  Either way, they’re baked, which makes them healthy. Or healthier, at least, then a bag of greasy old frozen French fries. And far more delicious.
  
  Stephanie (aka Girl Versus Dough) joined Tablespoon to share her adventures in the kitchen. Check out Stephanie’s Tablespoon member profile and keep checking back for her own personal recipes on Tablespoon!