Thursday, July 29, 2010

Who Needs Pasta When You Have Rutabagas?

MIU France Julienne Slicer:

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plus rutabaga:

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equals rutabaga "pasta":

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How cool is that? I heard about this little gadget from Maria Emmerich's blog, and I drooled over her zucchini "Garden Spaghetti" so much that I couldn't wait to try veggie pasta for myself.

This rutabaga version had a firmness and slight crunch that shirataki noodles lack, which is great for me, since I prefer my pasta al dente and not gelatinous. I boiled the "noodles" for just a couple of minutes, tossed them with a some butter and garlic, and added a little Ragu to make it quick and easy. While Katie is here this weekend, we'll feast on Rutabaga "Pasta" with Meat Sauce. It's only too bad I can't make a Rutabaga Johnny Marzetti.

What methods do you use to help you get your pasta fix?

6 comments:

Jennifer [To PIN/share a Post, Click the 3 dots or the Red SAVE Button] said...

Hi Tracey and friend - your blog is looking great! I added yours to mine and thanks for the reciprocal link!

I imagine it is not easy to cut rutabagas? I have not played with them yet.

Tracey said...

Thanks, Jennifer! My best friend coming on as co-blogger really energized me to get going with it again. Plus, she's way better than me at making blogs look pretty.

Yeah, rutabagas are pretty tough. I was able to get my biggest knife through it to peel and cut it into large chunks for my slicer, but I wouldn't attempt cutting it into "pasta" or even fry-shaped pieces without some sort of special gadget with a slicing blade. Maybe they cut better after some boiling.

Jennifer [To PIN/share a Post, Click the 3 dots or the Red SAVE Button] said...

Yes, I can see that the rutabagas could be pretty tough.

That's great, Tracey - keep up the good work you two!

Lucy said...

Hello-just found your blog, love the name bytheway.

I've never had rutabagas. For a pasta fix I mainly use zuchinni. I've never tried the spaghetti squash kind....maybe in the near future I will.

Nice blog!

Tracey said...

Thanks, Lucy! I'm going to be trying zucchini pasta next for sure. I had the extra rutabaga from an attempt at rutabaga chips (which sort of failed) and was really happy with how it turned out.

I have yet to try spaghetti squash, too. It probably doesn't taste like other squashes, but every time I try to imagine the taste, it ends up sounding sort of gross. It's definitely something I want to attempt at some point, though.

pltsolomon said...

Hello, I just stumbled across your blog looking for another use for rutabagas. I love the pasta idea! I have made chips with them and they are delicious!