Scalloped Rutabaga

This dish was inspired by Low-Carbing Among Friends team member Kent Altena.  He makes delicious Low-Carb Scalloped “Potatoes” using jicama. .  Many of you are already familiar with Kent’s (Bowulf) low-carb recipe videos.  Kent’s inspirational recipe also uses some chopped ham for a complete meal, which is a very tasty dish.  Here is his recipe:  http://www.youtube.com/user/bowulf?feature=playlist-comment

But after trying his recipe, I decided to see what scalloped potatoes would be like made with sliced rutabaga (closer to potato in texture to me) and leave out the ham for just a side dish.

Rutabagas are known as “swedes” in some parts of the world.  This dish came out fantastic!  My thanks to Kent for putting this idea into my head.  I also reduced the chicken broth and added chopped green onion to the ingredient list because I love green onion in anything potato-like.  Mmmm. This dish isn’t suitable until the starchier vegetable rung of the Atkins OWL ladder, but the difference in carbs for 2 oz. of either is just 0.6g net carbs……..so nearly negligible in my opinion.   My recipe is half the volume of his original recipe as there are only two of us.  But you can double my recipe if you have a big family.  I would not recommend freezing this dish as the cream cheese will likely break down a bit when frozen, which can be visually off-putting.  Flavor, however, will not be harmed by freezing.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. rutabaga, peeled and thinly sliced

3 green onions, chopped

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. sour cream

1/3 c. chicken broth

Dash each salt and black pepper

5 oz. grated Cheddar cheese (or mixture of Cheddar and Deluxe American cheese)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease an 8″ square baking dish with a dab of butter or coconut oil. Peel the rutabaga with a carrot peeler.  This will work even if it has been wax coated by the grocer.  Slice it wafer thin.  I use a mandoline to do this, or you can use a food processor’s slicing blade.  Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl.  Stir in chicken broth, seasoning and cheese.  Finely chop and add the green onion and rutabaga.  Stir in 3 oz. of the grated Cheddar cheese, reserving the other 2 oz. for later.  When well-mixed, scrape it all into the greased baking dish and pop into a 350º oven for initially 30 minutes.  Remove and add remaining cheese evenly on top and put back into oven to bake for another 40 minutes.  Cool and serve with your favorite meats.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each contains:

192 cals, 15.43g fat, 6.63g carbs, 1.45g fiber, 5.18g NET CARBS, 7.52g protein, 372 mg sodium