Let’s talk about swedes.

Typically when I think about swedes, I think of my grandmother’s home-style cooking. Roast meat with an assortment of vegetables and mashed swede on the side. If I’m entirely honest, this vegetable was more often than not pushed to the side of the plate. But I’ve come to the realisation that it is so much more than that. Let’s take a look why this vegetable is so versatile and nutritious for you…

Similar to my last few posts on brussels sprouts and daikon, swedes are part of the brassica family. You may recall that this family of vegetables tend to have quite a high sulphur content. This means that they can have an acquired taste. Can you relate to this?

It is proposed that the swede is a cross between a turnip and cabbage. This might account for some of the common confusion between the difference of swedes and turnips. Typically, swedes (or rutabaga) are slightly sweeter than turnips and are larger in size. The spruce eats puts this quite simply, when comparing the two vegetables; swedes are the large, yellowish vegetables and turnips are the smaller white and purple vegetables.

Nutritional Properties:

The average swede you receive in your FarmGate Online order weighs approximately 200g. Once you prepare the swede you are left with roughly 175g of edible portion.  You may remember that according to The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, a serve of vegetables is the equivalent of 75g or 1/2 cup of cooked veggies. Therefore one swede equates to just over 2 serves of vegetables.

So what does consuming one swede (175g) offer me nutritionally?

175g of boiled swedes will provide you with approximately:

•  5% of your thiamin (Vitamin B1), riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and zinc requirements
• 15% of your fibre, niacin (Vitamin B3) and potassium recommendations
• 75% of your Vitamin C needs

Note: how you choose to prepare your swedes will slightly alter their nutritional composition.

Raw swedes have a similar nutritional composition to that of boiled swedes. However raw swedes have slightly higher Vitamin C content. This is because Vitamin C is heat and water soluble. Therefore, once boiled, some of the Vitamin C content is lost. With this in mind, boiled swedes still provide you with a large proportion of your daily Vitamin C needs.

Storage tips:

For best results, store swedes in the crisper section of your fridge. Preferably in a produce bag. Don’t have any? You can purchase these from FarmGate Online here.

 Menu ideas:

• Fritters are my go to recipes. A simple and cost-effective way to get the most out of my produce. It’s also a sneaky way to get your family to eat a wider variety of veggies. How about giving this swede and kohlrabi fritter recipe a go?
• Jamie Oliver’s shepherd’s pie recipe is a great way to revamp your staple recipe.
• This swede gnocchi with crispy sage recipe is a great twist on a classic.
• Feeling like a winter warming dish? This beef and swede casserole recipe is sure to do the trick.
• Sometimes simplicity is best. Have you tried roasted swede with parmesan before? Or how about honey-roasted swede with chilli and cumin? Give both of these recipes a go. Trust me, you’ll thank me!
• Looking for a different side dish? This pumpkin and swede crumble is the perfect accompaniment to any winter meal.
• How could I go past a classic soup recipe? This cream roasted swede soup recipe is so simple and hearty.
• Feel like trying something completely different? How about this swede and nutmeg cake with brown butter frosting and salted hazelnuts? Intrigued? I certainly am!

Recipe for the week:

Cauliflower, swede and turnip curry.

This recipe is great as it can cater for those who have gluten-free and plant-based dietary requirements. It’s packed full of flavour and you can substitute what vegetables and spices you have at home. It’s all about utilising what you have to result in less food waste and less expenditure on your food budget.

If your dietary requirements permit, serve with naan, rice or yoghurt. You could easily serve this with dahl too for a completely balanced meal.

Print

Cauliflower, swede and turnip curry

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Author: Delicious Magazine

Ingredients

• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 25-30 fresh curry leaves
• 1 small onion grated
• 2 cm fresh ginger grated
• 2-3 red dried chillis
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 200 grams chopped tinned tomatoes
• 4 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 250 grams mixed swede and turnip diced
• 1 small cauliflower broken into florets
• Handful of chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

1. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, then add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Cook for a minute until the mustard seeds just start to pop, being careful not to let them burn, then add the onion and ginger and fry for 3-4 minutes

2. Add the dried chillies, turmeric, fennel and fenugreek seeds, then fry for 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, coconut, swede, turnip and a good splash of water. Season, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
   

4. Stir through the cauliflower, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
   

5. Scatter with the coriander and serve with rice, yogurt and warmed naan breads or parathas

Recipe Notes

• Image used is provided by Delicious Magazine.

As always, feel free to comment below with recipe inspiration or head over to the FarmGate Online Facebook Group and show me what you’ve created.

Happy Cooking.

Tess Handrinos

Tess has a Diploma in Health Science and is currently completing her final year of a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Monash University. She is a new mum who has a passion for food, evolving skills in the kitchen and is a huge advocate for eating wholesome foods to nourish her growing family.