Before cooking, rutabagas must be peeled and cut.
Rutabaga is a versatile root vegetable that can be cooked in a variety of ways, depending on the dish you are using. Regardless of the cooking method you choose, start by washing, peeling, and slicing the rutabaga. You can then toss it in the oil and bake it in the oven or boil it for a quick side dish. Other popular ways to cook rutabaga include steaming or sautéing it.
Before you start cooking, you will need to rinse, peel, and possibly cut the produce. To start, rinse under cold running water, using a brush or your hands to clean away any dirt. Although you will remove the outer layer, doing so without rinsing the vegetable first can make the kohlrabi pulp messy. Despite being edible, the rind is often bitter even after the rutabaga is cooked and can be coated with wax to preserve the vegetable during transport; therefore, remove it with a sharp knife. At this point, you can dice, slice, or leave it whole; however, reducing it significantly reduces cooking time.
As with many root vegetables, one of the most popular ways to cook rutabaga is to roast it. For this method, cut the vegetable into evenly sized pieces and toss the pieces with a small amount of oil. Add any spices or seasonings that suit your taste and a small amount of salt to help with the browning process. Put everything on a baking sheet and cook the pieces at a moderately hot temperature for about 45 minutes to more than an hour; Kohlrabi should generally be removed from the oven when tender.
Boiling is one of the most versatile ways to prepare rutabaga, allowing you to cook it whole or in chunks for a quick side dish, or even make the vegetable soft enough to puree like a potato or cauliflower. To boil rutabaga, place it in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Salt the water, lowering the heat a little so that it boils continuously, and cook the rutabaga until it reaches the desired texture. You can usually cook rutabaga using this method in 10 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Once cooked, you can season and serve the vegetables, add them to another dish or puree them.
Chunks or slices of this vegetable can be steamed or fried for a quick and easy side dish or meal. You can cook rutabaga by placing the pieces on a steamer tray over a pan of boiling water, covering the pan and allowing the vegetable to cook until tender. Smaller pieces or slices of rutabaga can also be tossed into a hot skillet with a little oil and seasoned to your liking, then sautéed alone or with other ingredients. Cooking this vegetable usually takes between 20 and 30 minutes, while frying it usually takes less than 10 minutes.