“If you do not try to make food delicious, you will find that nature has made it so.”
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Food as Medicine

Many people think that healing diets are restrictive, but for me it expanded the variety of foods I eat. There are so many delicious vegetables I never tried before going AIP. Rutabaga is one of those, and now it’s a favorite! It’s a beautiful blend of savory and sweet, and filled with nutrition to support healing. Here are 4 reasons to include this underrated veggie in your diet:

Rutabaga is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family. Dr. Terry Wahls recommends we eat 3 cups of vegetables from this family every day. Why? They contain sulfur-rich glucosinolates, which support our ability to detoxify and even reduce our risk of cancer.
It doubles as a brightly colored vegetable. You’ve heard the recommendation to eat the rainbow – each color represents unique phytochemicals that benefit our health. Rutabaga checks off the yellow/orange box.
It’s high in vitamin C. Just one cup cooked rutabaga contains 53% of your daily requirement. Many people don’t realize that vegetables can be a great source of vitamin C.
It contains ample amounts of two important minerals that support our cellular function body-wide: potassium and magnesium.

Bonus: you’ll notice this recipe contains a head of garlic as well. Garlic is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant. Terry Wahls loves garlic so much that she considers 2 cloves to be nutritionally equal to a full cup of another vegetable.

Instant Pot Garlicky Mashed Rutabaga (Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Wahls, Whole30)

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Author: Eileen
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

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Ingredients

Units

1 cup water
3 lbs. rutabagas, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 small head garlic
2 Tbsp. avocado oil, divided
2 Tbsp. bone broth or coconut milk (divided)
1/2 tsp. sea salt, divided

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Instructions

Pour the water into the Instant Pot and place the steaming rack inside.
Layer the chopped rutabaga on top.
Use a bread knife to slice the top off the head of garlic, exposing the tops of each clove. Place it on top of the chopped rutabaga.
Quick instructions for the Instant Pot veterans: Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes. Then, quick release the pressure, and skip to step 7.
If you're new to the Instant Pot, here are step-by-step pressure cooking instructions: Close and lock the lid. Turn the pressure knob to the “sealing” position. Press the “manual” button once. You'll see the display light up to indicate high pressure 30 minutes. Press the – button until it reaches 12. Wait 5 seconds, and the pot will beep and the display will say ON. This means it's heating up and building up pressure, which takes 5-10 minutes. Once full pressure is reached, the display will switch and start counting down the cooking time (12 minutes). Update: If you bought your Instant Pot in 2018 or later, they updated their display panel. The “manual” button is now called “pressure cook”.
When it's done cooking, the Instant Pot will beep. Click the “cancel” button to turn off the pot. Then carefully turn the pressure knob to the “venting” position. Be careful – when you do this, hot steam is going to come out of that knob. Just be sure to keep your hands and body clear, and turn the knob just slightly at first. As more pressure is released, you can turn it completely into the venting position, and you’ll feel the knob lift up. Once all the steam is released, you can open the pot. A safety measure on the pot is that the lid is pretty much impossible to turn when it’s still under pressure.
Remove cooked head of garlic to a cutting board and lay it on its side. Use a spoon to squeeze the garlic puree out of the paper shell.
You’ll be making the mash in two batches. Transfer 1/2 the cooked rutabaga (but none of the water) to a food processor, along with 1/2 the garlic puree, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, 1 tablespoon bone broth/coconut milk, and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Pulse to blend, using a spatula to scrape down the sides a few times. Then puree at high speed for a smooth mash. Transfer to serving bowl, and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.

Notes

Have you ever roasted garlic whole? It's a completely different flavor – mellow and rich. It turns out that pressure cooking creates that same flavor in much less time, and it pairs beautifully with rutabaga.
This recipe first appeared in an AIP community e-cookbook called AIP By Season as a celebration of Fall. It contains 100 other recipes to celebrate the seasons.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Category: Side Dishes
Method: Instant Pot