I have been having a blast in the kitchen recently. Last month John and I started receiving our first CSA boxes. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Basically, each week we get a box of fresh, organic local produce, a dozen eggs, and some protein (pork, beef, and chicken)… ALL straight from a local farm here in the area. It’s awesome!

I love being able to support a local farm AND know that we’re eating healthy, sustainable, organic protein and produce!

BUT, the challenge is you don’t always know what you’re getting in your produce box AND it may be something totally off the wall that you’ve never cooked with before… enter… the rutabaga.

I’ll be honest, before last week I couldn’t have even really told you what a rutabaga looked like, let alone know what to do with one. I only knew it was a funny word and it was a vegetable.

Well, after some thinking, Googling, etc. I decided to try my hand a rutabaga fries!! Y’all know I have a weakness for cheese fries… so, why not try a healthier, lower-carb version?

These turned out great! I almost felt like I was cheating because they were so good. They definitely have a different flavor… one that is a bit sweet and unexpected, but yummy! Now sure, if I had the choice of regular fries vs. rutabaga fries, I’d choose regular fries every day… BUT, I have to say, these were really, REALLY delicious and totally a viable alternative to regular fries!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

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RECIPE |Baked Cajun Rutabaga Cheese Fries

An easy, quick recipe for delicious and healthy baked rutabaga fries.

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 3 -4 servings

Author Molly Stillman

Ingredients

• 4 Medium Rutabagas honestly you could do it with as many as you have, you'll just adjust the ratios accordingly
• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Cajun seasoning to taste, I used about 1-2 teaspoons
• Salt to taste, I used a small amount... maybe 1/4 teaspoon
• Pepper to taste, I used a small about, maybe 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated parmesan cheese to taste
• 1 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425
2. Peel the skin off the rutabagas with a peeler, then slice the rutabagas into fry-like shapes and place in a large mixing bowl
3. In the bowl, add the olive oil, cajun season, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese
4. Toss to coat evenly. You want to make sure the rutabagas are evenly coated in olive oil, but not SOAKED. Feel free to add more or less seasonings depending on your taste.
5. Place on a baking sheet and make sure they are all spread evenly and are not overlapping.
6. Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes, flipping them after 15 minutes to make sure they bake evenly.
7. Once they are done baking, turn OFF the oven, remove the rutabaga fries from the oven, place them on a serving plate (that is oven safe) and cover them with a light sprinkling of the shredded cheddar cheese. Then, place the serving plate BACK in the oven to melt the cheese. This only takes about 30 seconds to a minute or so. (Even though the oven is off, the heat will melt the cheese just enough and not burn it).
8. Serve with a side of organic ranch or organic ketchup!