Baked Rutabaga and Hot Italian Sausage Sauce

I have been posting quite a few of the usual #dblog that I would have done here at the Roller Coaster Ride of Diabetes being posted on my Instagram account.  I find a picture, with a few words (well, not always in my case <lol>), I get more satisfaction with knowing that it might touch someone’s life in a hopefully positive way, rather than going the route of a blog where many people are just so darn busy, they don’t have time to read all my words, funny links I pop in.

 

So, just remember, if you don’t see me posting here as often, you can always find me hanging out on Instagram while it’s still a fun place to post (sadly since Facebook bought it up, it’s changed slightly, but I still prefer to coziness, less drama of Instagram).

Now to the topic of this wonderful subject of pasta, that often makes those of us with diabetes/gluten intolerant and/or trying to lose weight, shudder and say “ No, No, No … it’s evil – it’s Creepy Pasta “.

I had ½ of medium-sized Rutabaga sitting in my crisper that I figured before it went funky, should be used.  I’m only trying to keep enough food to see me through the week, to not only to cut down on the grocery bill costs but also live the “waste not want not” way that I was raised on as a child living at home with parents that went through WWII. I’m telling you, this Pandemic is making a few of us revert back to days of the old (e.g. I no longer buy paper tissues aka snot rags). I've been making my own from thrift shop finds of cotton sheets that help to reduce landfill!

If you watched the above short video compilation above  … something new that I learned with my HuaweiP20 mobile … then you will get an idea of why I’m raving about this type of “pasta” over the usual spiraled zucchini (tends to be watery) / carrot (which is good) . Rutabaga packs in a lot of nutrition and is low in carbs depending of course on how much you eat!  I mean, it looks like pasta, is al dente, what more can you ask for?

“ Ugh “ you are saying to yourself (or out loud  – watch out someone might be watching you) …  “ Really isn’t that turnip that my Mum forced on me in some form or another as a kid? Nope don’t like it, won’t try it … “ yadda, yadda, yadda.

Come on – what is the harm in giving it a try?

Well, listen up matey … it’s NOT a turnip.  Yes, they are both root vegetables but found out when doing my in-depth research that’s done for all my scribbles you read that it’s probably a hybrid of a cabbage AND a turnip.  Sadly, the poor humble rutabaga is sadly confused and sold as yellow turnips or wax turnips.  It's part of the clan of root vegetables and a member of the Brassica family (doesn’t this sound like a story out of Outlander?) and rutabaga is probably a hybrid of a cabbage and a turnip.  The first known printed reference to the rutabaga came from the Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhim in 1620, where he noted that it was growing wild in Sweden.  Of course, then speed on to WWI / WWI … many folks ate it, that's all they had at the time, so tend to not eat it because of the memories.

Turnip  /  Rutabaga - picture courtesy of Fine Cooking  

Where they both differ you may ask?  Rutabagas usually have yellow flesh and a purple-tinged yellow skin, and they’re bigger than turnips. Both vegetables have a slightly sweet but snappy flavor reminiscent of cabbage, but rutabagas are sweeter. 

So, here’s what I did. 

• I peeled the wedge of rutabaga I had.  Stuck it on my Spiralizer and spiraled away (you won’t get dizzy trust me).  Note, you can get many different versions, go with what you can afford, have storage area for, etc.   
• If baking in oven like I did. Set your oven at Gas Mark 4 / 350 °F / 175 °C
• Ensure you have the right sized pot for your “pasta”, and get the water boiling (you could do this first, but after I spiraled what I thought wouldn’t amount to much, I’m glad I got the water boiling afterward, it would not have fit in the pot I'd intended to use.  During that time of waiting for water to come to a boil, just clean up the area to have less to deal with afterward, have a sip of your fav bevy, contemplate your navel, whatever.
• Drop “pasta” into the water (it’s up to you if you want to put in a bit of salt, I didn’t), and cook for about 4-5 minutes.  Drain. Set Aside.
• This next step is now up to you!  You are the creator of this wonderful dish. For myself, I had a leftover Hot Italian sausage sauce from a few days before.  I simply put a few scoops over the cooked “pasta” in a ceramic one–person dish smearing a bit of olive oil on the sides/bottom to prevent sticking. Stirred it around and topped it with some grated Parmesan.  Now, maybe that’s not your cuppa tea, go with whatever sauce you like with your regular pasta.  Maybe you like it simple, tossed in olive oil/butter with a bit of freshly grated pepper and some grated cheese.  It’s up to you!
• Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese melted. 

If you’re not oven baking like I did, I can’t wait to see your comments below on what version you created, be it Vegan/Vegetarian … whatever makes your tummy feel happy, and blood sugars stable.  Feel free to post the link from your social media account as well so we can all drool over it! 

Bon appetite!

NB:  Many thanks to Rutabaga Fest Blyth on Instagram for getting my mind interested in trying a vegetable that sometimes can get overlooked.  They are also on Facebook.