Orange and honey roasted rutabaga

Up until this I had never eaten a rutabaga anyway except for mashed/pureed with potatoes. I am pretty sure that up until last fall, I had never eaten a rutabaga in my life though. 

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So, I decided to try a new way to make this root vegetable into a side dish. Roasting is pretty much the best way to make almost all vegetables, so I figured that it would be worth a shot.Since rutabagas have a bit of a spicy flavor (similar but more subtle than a turnip), I thought that a sweet flavor would go nicely with it. I decided to keep it simple and roast the rutabaga chunks with some honey and orange juice. 

It was a good choice and the slight tang from the orange juice and sweetness from the honey paired very nicely with the rutabaga - it didn't overpower the vegetable, but rather complimented it.

I used one medium rutabaga, which I thought would make a side for at least three people, but my husband and I ate it all! I think that this would make a lovely and simple Thanksgiving side dish and a tasty way to introduce people to rutagbagas, which don't tend to be a very popular or common vegetable in my experience. 

You can easily double or triple this recipe and it is very forgiving. So if you haven't already made friends with the rutabaga, go for it! 

Orange and honey roasted rutabaga
1 rutabaga (about 1 lb.), preferably unwaxed, peeled and cubed
juice and zest of 1/2 an orange
1 heaped tablespoon honey (such as wildflower)
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon of olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a baking dish.

In a medium bowl, toss together the rutabaga along with the juice of the orange, honey, pepper, a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Let sit for about 10 minutes.

Remove the rutabaga from the bowl and transfer it to the baking dish, leaving the marinade in the bowl. Place the rutabaga in the oven (lower half). Cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally so all sides get golden. When the rutabagas are just about fork tender, add the marinade to the baking pan. Return to the oven and roast for another approximately 10 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. This will allow the marinade to get all sticky and condensed onto the rutabagas, whereas the honey would likely burn if you put it on right at the beginning.

Remove from the oven and transfer to your serving bowl. Top with another pinch of salt and the orange zest.