Recipe: Lanttulaatikko (Finnish Rutabaga Casserole)

Last week I bought three rutabagas and made the first into rutabaga fries. With rutabaga number two I decided to make lanttulaatikko, a traditional Finnish Christmas casserole. I figured that if this recipe is special enough for Christmas dinner, it'd definitely be worthwhile trying -- and it sure was! The following recipe is modified from Whole Circle Farm.

• 1 rutabaga (peeled, chopped)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 piece toast (crumbled)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 tbsp butter

I started by peeling the rutabaga and chopping it into small cubes.

I put the chopped rutabaga into a glass casserole dish and microwaved it for 24 minutes, stirring it at six-minute intervals. Alternatively, it could be boiled in water on the stove.

When the microwaved rutabaga was sufficiently soft, I mashed it with a fork (a masher is the one kitchen tool missing from my dollar store collection!).

In a bowl I beat an egg together with 1/4 cup of milk.

I stirred a crumbled piece of toast (makeshift bread crumbs), 1 tbsp of brown sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg into the egg/milk mixture.

In a 9x9 in glass casserole dish, I mixed the mashed rutabaga and egg/milk/breadcrumb mixture. I dotted the top with butter.

I baked the casserole at 350 degrees F until the top was lightly browned (around 40 minutes). By that time the house was smelling nice and nutmeggy!

While I'll admit that with its strong taste and confusing texture rutabaga is not my favourite vegetable, I don't mind eating it from time to time and did enjoy the taste of this casserole. The rutabaga goes nicely with the bit of sweetness and nutmeg and I can see how this would be a comforting dish to enjoy with friends and family in the middle of winter.

If you know a good rutabaga recipe, please do share -- I'd love to hear it!