Neeps or Swedes or Rutabaga all mean the same thing, that amazing winter root veggie that was created as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip in the 1700 in Sweden. In the garden because its such a long slower grower, it means that it gets a single season planting, averaging 100 days and can easily go 110 or longer in our zone.

They are much firmer, sweeter then regular white turnips and are worth the extra time it takes to grow them. They can be eaten raw or cooked. In this case i peeled and cubed and over roasted them to bring out their depth of flavor and added sweetness.

Neeps Potato Bacon Soup

one med neep or Rutabaga, washed, peeled and cubed into 1 inch cubes baked till tender or cook it in a pot of just covered water till tender.

3 medium potatoes, washed peeled and cubed and cooked in water till fork tender

1 small yellow onion

6 cups veggie or chicken broth

3 slices of thick cut bacon or 2 tsp of real bacon bits

Bonus small amount of cream or sour cream if desired

Salt, Pepper, Garlic and your favorite veggie herb blend if desired.

In my case, I made this soup because we had leftover mashed Neeps (over roasted) and leftover Mashed potatoes in the fridge. These two made the perfect base for a hot lovely soup for lunch for the crew.

If starting from scratch, wash/peel cube your neeps and potatoes and cook till tender, drain well, mash till smooth as desired. In your stock pot, add a bit of your favorite oil and or if cooking the bacon, dice your bacon and cook till browned, add your onion and cook till clear and tender, add your broth, neeps and potato to the broth and onions, add back in your bacon, heat though just till simmering, taste and add salt, pepper and garlic powder and if wanted a bit of your favorite herb blend for veggies. Adjust to your own taste, i would start with half a tsp of salt, pepper, garlic powder and see what you like, i like the flavor of the neeps to shine so i go light on the seasonings.

Serve into your bowls, can put a swirl of cream or dollop of sour cream on top, if you like a small pat of butter with a handful of herbed seasoned croutons is also a delightful touch..

In keeping with my post on beets yesterday, turnips and swedes are rock solid root veggies that grow very well in our zone. I personally find it harder to enjoy regular turnips then i do the swedes or neeps which i enjoy much more.

Farmgal Tip, Swedes have much less sugar per the same amount of potato so for those that are watching their sugar content, if you can take a recipe 50/50 you will cut the carb count by doing so.

30 Day Mini Challenge – Day 6 of writing blog posts