Roasted Rutabaga and Parsnips Beer Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large rutabaga
• 4-5 small-medium parsnips
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 – 12 oz bottle of beer (Honey Brown Lager)
• 1 cup homemade vegetable stock
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 plus 1/8  cup flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 large bay leaf
• 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese
• 12 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese
• 16 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1-1/2 can chipotle-adobo sauce, using 1-2 of the peppers
• brown sugar
• ground thyme
• sea salt, to taste
• McCormack® Peppercorn Medley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.


Directions:
Peel, slice, and dice rutabaga and parsnips into 1/4 inch pieces.  Place in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, sage, and brown sugar atop the mixture.  Toss.  Repeat.  Toss.  Repeat once more to evenly distribute.  Spray a large metal pan with olive oil and spread the pieces evenly.  Roast until browned and , about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Whilst the vegetables are roasting, grate cheese and set aside.  Mince onions and set aside.  Mince garlic and set aside.  

In a sauce pan, melt two tablespoons of butter and slowly sauté onions, garlic, and bay leaf over low heat.  Set aside.

In a large sauteuse pan, melt the remaining butter.  Whilst it is melting, warm milk in the microwave (approximately 2 minutes).  Add the flour to the melted butter very slowly to begin a roux, whisking the entire time.  Once the flour is all mixed in, allow it to simmer and brown a bit.  Then, slowly add in the milk.  Once all the milk is added, allow it to simmer for a while to thicken.  Then, very slowly start adding the grated cheese by sprinkling it across the top of the roux and a stirring frequently so that the cheese melts into the roux.  Repeat until all the cheese is added.

Add in the onions, garlic, and bay leaves and stir.  Slowly, add in the beer, vegetable stock, and adobe sauce and peppers.  Stir.  Then add in the roasted vegetables, sprinkle the top with additional pepper, and bring to a strong simmer.  Cook for 30-40 minutes to thicken the soup.

Whilst the soup is thickening, using kitchen sheers, snip 1/4 inch slices half a strip of bacon per planned serving into a frying pan.  Cook until golden brown and crispy.  Drain on paper towel and set aside for garnishing the soup.

Serve with crusty bread, preferably sour dough.

Myrtle's Note:  First off, this is a halved recipe and still serves 8-10.  When making the recipe, I found it odd to have something noted as serving 4 completely filling my stock pot!  [I was a bit dense in adding up the liquids before commencing this recipe.]  Though halved, I did not halve the vegetables in the recipe above, because they were a bit thin in the ratio department in the original recipe.  Given the amount of liquids in this soup, I ended up using just a third of the stock and could not fathom using all of it.  As it is, this is a bit of a thin cheese soup, although very full of flavor.  I also changed how I roasted the vegetables a bit.  And, at the most brilliant suggestion of my neighbor, I changed the garnish.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Source:  http://honestcooking.com/roasted-rutabaga-beer-cheese-soup-recipe/

Creamy, Smoky Whipped Rutabaga

Ingredients:

• 2 rutabagas  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon large flake smoked salt
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Peppercorn Medley

Directions:

Mince garlic and set aside.  Put olive oil and paprika in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.  Cube cream cheese and set aside to soften.  Cut centimeter slices and then cut again cross-wise to create cubes and set aside.  

Melt butter in a sauteuse pan.  Add garlic and sauté to a golden brown.  Add rutabaga cubes and toss well to coat the rutabaga.  Add salt and pepper.  Toss again.  Add milk and simmer for 30 minutes or  until the rutabaga is very tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.

Add all the contents of the sauteuse pan to the mixing bowl and then top with the cream cheese.  Using a hand or stand mixer, whip it all together.  Add additional salt and/or pepper to taste, if desired.  Serve immediately.

Myrtle's Note:  I rewrote the directions as to how I prepared this.  I did find the weight notations odd, since I had both one large and two medium rutabagas.  The two rutabagas were each about 1 pound.  So, I cannot fathom how four of those (equaling the 3.5-4 pounds) would have worked with the rest of the proportions since what I made worked out so well.  Not having smoked olive oil, I substituted smoked salt, reducing the amount a bit.  I also changed the type of pepper, because that peppercorn medley works so well with root vegetables and squashes.  And, for the record, I found the consistency more ... grainy ... than mashed potatoes, but incredibly tasty.

   

Yield: 4-6

Source:  http://www.thekitchn.com/autumn-recipe-creamy-smoky-whi-157478

Zesty Roasted Rutabaga and Carrots

Ingredients:

• 1 large rutabaga
• 2-3 medium carrots
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice and zest of a large lemon
• 1 table spoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dill
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425.


Directions:

Peel and julienne the rutabagas and carrots into 3 inch slices.  Place in a sauteuse pan with the water and bring to a boil.  Cook for 5 minutes.

While the pieces are parboiling, juice and zest a lemon.  If you have a long curl zester, mince the curls.  Then, whisk together the lemon juice and zest and the rest of the ingredients into a shallow glass bowl.

Drain the vegetable pieces and toss in the bowl until thoroughly coated.  Spread out onto a metal pan.

Roast for approximately 40-50 minutes, turning after about 20 minutes to more evenly cook the vegetables.

Serve either warm or cold.


Myrtle's Note:  These were bloody fantastic!  I think the combination of carrots and rutabaga made both better.  And I liked the tang quite a bit.  As with most roasted vegetable recipes, I increased both the temperature and cooking time.  I also disagreed about the serving size.  Below is pictured 1/4 quarter of a rutabaga and the equal of about 2/3 carrot.  However, whilst I reduced the amounts of carrots and rutabaga, I kept the proportions the same on the marinade the same and I changed the type of sugar.  Like I said, though, these were bloody fantastic!


Yield: 4 servings

Source:  http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/zesty-roasted-rutabaga-and-carrots/

Herb Crusted Roasted Rutabaga

Ingredients:

• 2 rutabagas
• 2 table spoons olive oil
• 1/2 table spoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon McCormack® Peppercorn Medley
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.


Directions:

Mince the herbs and set aside.  Peel, slice, and then cube into small pieces the rutabagas.  Place the cubes in a wide shallow bowl and toss with the olive oil.  When coated, add the herbs and toss again.

Spread on a metal baking sheet and bake for approximately 40-50 minutes.

Myrtle's Note:  I made just a fraction of the recipe since I was trying out two rutabaga recipes at the same time.   So, my first batch had a tad too much oil, 1 tablespoon for just half a rutabaga.  The photo below is actually just 1/4 a rutabaga and half of what I made.  I adjusted the proportions above to make 4-6 servings.


Yield:  4-6 servings.

Adapted from:  http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/vegetablesandsidedishes/r/roastrutabaga.htm