Lactofermented Rutabaga

Have you ever heard of lactofermenting? It's kind of like pickling, but instead of cooking the canned stuff, you just let it sit so that good bacteria grows and keeps bad bacteria from forming. Lactofermented food is probably the easiest, tastiest, and cheapest way of consuming probiotics. If you do it right, it can also be the healthiest! For more information on lactofermenting and why it's so good, read this. (There are also lots of great recipes for lacto-ferments on that site.)

Lactofermented foods should be part of your daily diet. My favourite vegetable ferments are sauerkraut, ginger carrot, lacto-fermented beets, and lacto-fermented rutabaga. Kombucha, kefir, fermented condiments, sourdough and yogurt are also good sources of healthy bacteria. I constantly have kombucha brewing, and it's one of the most delicious fermented food there is (well, it's actually a drink, but you get my point).

The recipe that I'm going to share today is for lactofermented rutabaga (you can also use turnips, they're pretty much the same, rutabagas are just cheaper here). I like them best when fermented with some brine from fermented beets (you could also use beet juice, or just add a few chunks of beets), because then they turn the most gorgeous shade of bright pink!

Lactofermented rutabaga can be used in salads and lettuce rolls (great with avocado), in falafel wraps, wrapped in other ways (especially good with tahini sauce), or as a garnish. These make seriously beautiful garnishes.

Lactofermented Pink Rutabaga

Ingredients

1 large rutabaga or 2 turnips, cut into matchsticks

1/2 to 1 cup leftover brine from fermented beets or beet juice, optional (you can also just throw a few chunks of beets in with the rutabaga)

water, to cover (preferably filtered)
1 Tbsp salt, or 2 Tbsp if not using leftover brine

Directions

1. Pour the brine and salt into a large jar, or two medium jars (whatever can hold all the rutabaga), stir until the salt is dissolved.

2. Put the rutabaga in in the jars/jars.

3. Add water to cover, leaving at least 1 inch of air at the top of the jar.

4. Close the lid, then leave the jars to ferment for about 3 days.

5. Refrigerate after they have finished fermenting.

These are extremely versatile! Use then in salads, as a garnish, in nori wraps, or other wraps! They taste especially good with middle eastern/lebanese foods, like falafel.

Here are some recipes that include lactofermented rutabaga:

roasted vegetables on raw rice (as a garnish)
warm salad (as a garnish)

rainbow kale salad

This post was shared at: Fight Back Friday April 19th