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1 Melt the butter in the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sweet potatoes and sauté until the onion is limp, about 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and cider. Season with salt and pepper.

2 Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

3 Stir in the apples and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 minutes longer. Serve hot.

Southern-Style Mashed Rutabagas or Turnips

Serves 4

A little bit of sugar and some bacon go a long way to making any vegetable irresistible. If you find yourself resisting root vegetables, consider this recipe — it works for all manner of roots, my favorite being rutabagas or a combination of rutabagas and turnips.

3 ounces salt pork, bacon, or pancetta, diced

2 cups water

2½ pounds rutabagas and/or turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 Combine the salt pork and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

2 Add the vegetables, a generous pinch of sugar, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cover, return to a boil, and boil gently until the vegetables are completely tender, about 45 minutes.

3 Drain the vegetables, reserving the cooking water. Add the butter and mash until smooth, adding a little cooking water as needed to obtain a fairly smooth purée. Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional sugar, salt, and pepper; serve hot.

Sautéed Turnips

Serves 4–6

Cooking takes the raw, biting edge off turnips, so it is important to cook them until they are very tender, especially if you are unsure whether you enjoy turnips. These are best cooked in a very large skillet, with enough room to brown the turnips. For best results if you don’t have a large skillet, work in two batches.

2–3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds turnips (2 large), peeled and cut into matchsticks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Pour enough oil into a very large skillet to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat. Add the turnips and sauté, turning and tossing the turnips frequently, until well browned and tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how crowded the turnips are in the pan.

2 Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Rutabaga Chips

Serves 4–6

Rutabagas wouldn’t get such a bad rap if they were prepared as chips more often. This is a great introductory recipe. Then, once a person concedes that rutabagas are terrific, you can slip rutabagas into all sorts of dishes. If you want to elevate rutabaga chips (or any vegetable chip) to high art, try frying the chips in duck fat saved from a roasted duck and stored in the refrigerator.

1 large (or 2–3 small) rutabaga

Sunflower oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or duck fat

Coarse sea salt or kosher salt

1 Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large baking sheet with paper towels.

2 Peel the rutabaga and slice very thin. A food processor or mandoline does a good job of keeping the slices thin and consistent, which is what you want. If the rutabaga slices bead up with water, pat them dry with paper or clean kitchen towels.

3 Heat about ½ inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, slip only enough rutabaga slices into the oil so they will cook without touching. Fry until lightly browned on the edges and more deeply golden in the middle, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining rutabaga slices.

4 Blot excess oil with additional towels as needed. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

Rutabaga Squares

Serves 8–10

The rutabaga lies somewhat disguised in this tasty cross between a bread and a gratin. A food processor makes grating the rutabaga quite easy.

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried sage

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or lemon pepper

1 rutabaga, peeled and shredded (about 4 cups)

1 onion, diced

1 cup lightly packed grated cheddar cheese (4 ounces)