This was such a simple and delicious recipe, especially so as I LOVE swede! (other names include: Yellow turnip, Swedish turnip, Russian turnip or Rutabaga). From the recipe I was able to make 6 swede cakes and I ate 3 of them with a plateful of soya mince stew that had various vegetables included too. The plateful cost me around 90p for the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 lb of swede cooked and mashed
- 2 oz of plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- Pepper optional
- Some margarine for frying
Method
- Cube and cook the swede until tender. Mash, you can add a little margarine into the mash if you have enough free from your weekly ration!
- Mix in the flour, salt and pepper thoroughly.
- Place some margarine into the frying pan and once hot add three dollops of the swede mix and form into patties. Brown both sides. repeat the process again to cook the rest.
Should make 6 generous size swede cakes!
The 1940's Experiment 
Hmm makes a change from just mashed or used to top a pie!
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It does, I’d been missing the taste of fat too so it was nice to have something fried! xxxxx C
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I grate and add to coleslaw…gives more depth of flavour!
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Good idea!
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They look delicious Carolyn
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They tasted really nice, thanks C xxxx
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It looks delicious! I confess, here in America, I have no idea how to recognize those different turnips. I would love to see a photo of them before preparing, if you wouldn’t mind photographing them the next time you make this recipe. I had thought a Swede and a yellow turnip and a rutabaga were all the same thing. As an avid gardener, I would love to learn more about them!
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Hi Holly, yes they are, I put the other names a swede is known by in brackets in the blog post. I’ve added a stock photo too xx I remember looking for Swedes when I lived in Canada but that was Rutabaga too. xxxx C
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Thank you! I realized my mistake later on the names. I did make the recipe and it is lovely! I need to improve on my technique. I think I did not drain enough moisture out of the Swede cubes before mashing, so it was soft and not cooperating with me when I tried to make them into patties. I was also not sure I had the heat of the pan correct before beginning, so I made a big clean up job for myself but they were worth it! Practice makes perfect, so I will try these again. My husband liked them, too! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
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I’ve made these before, only with a mix of potato and carrot.
Hadn’t thought of using swede before. Indeed, turnip, parsnips or any other root vegetable would likely be equally nice. 👍
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Finally, a use for my turnip 🙂 I’m going to chop some onion and garlic into it though…was thinking of something green to add to it, but I’m not a chef so I no idea what green seasoning would go best with turnip.
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I think some spinach and rocket leaves might go nicely with it.
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oh ya, spinach finally chopped….not sure what rocket leaves are. Also in Canada if that makes a difference. I’ll google them though. Thank you.
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Ah you were thinking of something to add to the cakes, rather than a side dish! I misunderstood. I use dried mixed herbs a lot, but for swede I think something slightly spicy/smoky/earthy might work better like chilli, paprika, coriander or cajun spice mix.
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Raquel,
Fresh parsley or chives would go equally well with turnip or swede.
Also, rocket is known as ‘arugula’ in the US I believe. The leaves are slightly bitter and peppery. Hope that helps.
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That’s given me an idea for another use for the bag of frozen root/stew veg I have in my freezer from Iceland supermarket. I usually steam some til soft and put into the slow cooker with some other ingredients to make a soup. But steamed soft in the microwave with a couple of spuds, mashed and then some cajun spice/dried herbs, tomato ketchup mixed in with some millet flour would make some nice veggie cakes fried in sunflower oil in my cast iron skillet! Thanks for the inspiration.
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@Raquel Rocket is a strong, peppery salad leaf. We often have it in green salad leaf bags here in Britain x
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They look tasty, Carolyn.
We like swedey mashed potatoes with Cumberland sausage and gravy, and lots of steamed savoy or red cabbage.
Best wishes,
Nelliegrace
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