Epiphany has traditionally been a time to eat a second Christmas dinner. Sometimes it may be a bit of a varied version but it is a good time to pull out things in the freezer that did not get eaten the first time around. Last Sunday we had asked some friends to come over for dinner. I had a couple carrot and rutabaga casseroles left in the freezer. To tell you the truth, they actually tasted better last weekend than they did at Christmas. Carrot and Rutabaga casseroles are a very traditional part of the Finnish Christmas meal. I emailed my Mom to ask if I could share her recipe since I think that she makes the best ones and she gave me permission. These casseroles are perfect in the winter as a side dish.
The carrot casserole above is before going into the oven. The casserole on the botton right has not been sprinkled with bread crumbs.
Carrot Casserole Porkkanalaatikko
1.5 dl/0.63 cups pearl rice
1/2 l/generous 2 cups water
1/2 l/generous 2 cups milk
1/2 kg/17 oz carrots
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 eggs (beaten)
1 dl/1/2 c fine bread crumbs
butter
Boil the water and add rice. Cook for about 7-10 minutes and add milk. Allow to simmer for another 40 minutes. A double boiler is wonderful for this stage so that the rice porridge does not burn. While the rice porridge is cooking, peel and chop the carrots. Cook them in salted water until tender. Drain the water from the carrots and purée. Add the salt, brown sugar and eggs to the carrots and stir until smooth. Add the carrot mixture to the rice porridge and mix. Pour into greased tins. Sprinkle generously with the bread crumbs and make indentations with a spoon. Cut butter into little cubes and press them into every other indentation. If you would like to save them for future use, freeze them at this stage. Bake them at 160C/325F for 1 to 2 hours(depending on the depth of your casserole tins). If your casseroles are frozen give them at least a day in the fridge to defrost before baking.
Rutabaga casserole Lanttulaatikko
2 rutabaga
1/2 l/generous 2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1.5 dl/0.63 cups fine bread crumbs
2 dl/ 0.85 c milk
2 tbsp molasses
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp butter melted
1/dl/1/2 c fine bread crumbs to sprinkle on the casserole
and little butter cubes for the indentations
Peel the rutabaga and cut into wedges. Cook until tender. Purée until smooth and add the bread crumbs. In a separate bowl mix the egg, milk, melted butter, ginger and white pepper. Mix the milk mixture into the puréed rutabaga. Spoon into greased baking tins. Bake at 160C/325F for 1-1.5 hours or until golden brown. The bake time is dependent on the depth of your casserole dish.
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I like the tradition of celebrating the Epiphany. Here it is a non-event and most aren’t aware of the day.
Both of these dishes sound tasty. I cook carrots and rutabaga together in a stovetop braise but I like the idea of separating them to create 2 casseroles, especially with a bit of a crispy bread crumb topping. As you said, these are perfect winter side dishes.
In Finland, Epiphany is a day off for school children and businesses are closed if it happens to be during the week. In my family, we eat a second Christmas dinner. I should try your stovetop braise. Rutabaga has a fairly strong flavor and it does not get used as often as it should!
Both casseroles look out of this world! I love the ingredients and have never seen anything quite like them. Your recipes are always elegant, scrumptious, family oriented, and unique! These are both magnificently delicious!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! The recipes can be slightly adjusted according to personal taste. I sometimes increase the ratio of carrots to rice porridge for a more “carroty” dish. Cooks choice! 🙂
Thanks for the recipes. They will be good to try on a cold winter night.
Let me know how they turn out when you try them out!
These looks so good. I just researched for Rutabaga and surprise that I’ve seen them quite often in the local supermarket. Now I know how it can be use for. Thank you for sharing!
Rutabaga is quite inexpensive here, so we really should use it more often than we actually do! I sometimes cut it up into little cubes and add it to soup.
I can see how these casseroles would be perfect for a festive meal. I particularly like the sound of the carrot casserole and am envisioning the texture of it being kind of like cross between a rice pudding and a bread pudding. It looks and sounds so lovely!
Thank you for commenting! The texture is fairly close to a rice pudding since I use fine bread crumbs. But with the use of coarser bread crumbs, it would definitely be a cross between rice pudding and bread pudding.
I had to googlee rutabaga and now I know what it is, I might try your recipe. I call them swedes and I love the flavour. Thanks.
Yes, I discovered as well that rutabaga has several different names 🙂
This dish sounds great — I’m bookmarking it to make one night very soon. Hope your New Year is off to a great start!
Our New Year has started well and now we are looking forward to the early spring days when the sun shines and the weather is perfect for skiing! Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
I realized afterwards that you posted two carrots and the rutabega (sp?). I would try the carrot first as my mom makes a dish similar to your second version. We’ve been skiing too…it’s been great fun but leaves less time for cooking and blogging!
This sounds lovely, Ive always wondered what rutabaga is and Ive just discovered through the comments here that its called swede here! Great recipe , I will have to try it as I don’t use “swede” very often!
Thank you for stopping by! I really like the rutabaga casserole, out of the two it is my favorite!