OK, ok. Yes, this is fancy Neeps and Tatties. Jump to Recipe
It is springtime in the garden. The lilac tree is in its first leaf, which means it is time to plant beets, brassicas, carrots, lettuce, and spinach. I have been celebrating spring by weeding my vegetable beds and pulling all of the overwintered food into the kitchen to use up.
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Overwintered rutabagas and parsnips are what’s for dinner.
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We use this same process for regular mashed potatoes, but rutabagas, turnips and parsnips bring depth and earthiness to the dish. It is a great side for anything you’d serve with mashed potatoes. Try it with the Lemon Chicken Scaloppine.
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Root Vegetable Puree
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We simmer butter and half and half or cream with fresh herbs, peppercorns, and shallots while we cook the roots. The aromatics infuse the dairy with flavor without adding specs and bits of color to the finished puree.
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Ingredients
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- about 6 root vegetables such as rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips
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- a roughly equal quantity of potatoes
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- half and half
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- unsalted butter
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- a few shallots or garlic cloves (I used 3 small french shallots)
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- white and black peppercorns
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- bay leaf
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- aromatic herbs that stand up to heat, such as thyme and marjoram (shown)
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- salt
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Tools
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- vegetable peeler
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- knife and cutting board
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- saucepan
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- larger pot for boiling vegetables
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- wire strainer
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- quart glass measuring cup
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- big bowl
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- food mill/ ricer, immersion blender, or food processor
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Directions
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You will simmer your cream and butter with your herbs and pepper while you peel, cut, and cook your root veggies. Then you will strain the herbs out and mash everything together.
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Prep Ingredients:
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- Put some water into a pot for boiling the roots, and salt it until it tastes like the sea. Turn it on to get hot.
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- Scrub and peel your veggies
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- Chop them into chunks of roughly the same size
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- ALWAYS CUT POTATOES especially in the spring when they are all storage potatoes from last year. These bad spots don’t show from the outside, but they will make your entire dish taste disgusting even if you find them and pick them out after cooking.
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- Cook the veggies in gently boiling water until they are soft enough to mash. Check them periodically by poking them with a fork. They should be easy to pierce but not dissolving into starch. You may need to pull some pieces out before others are finished, just put them into your big bowl to wait for their friends.
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- When they are all done, put them into your bowl. If you are using a food mill, go ahead and run them through it.
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- Pour the herb-infused cream and butter through a wire strainer into a quart glass measuring cup, and then pour most of it over the roots. Save some out in case there is too much, so you don’t end up with soup (although that would also be tasty).
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- If you are using an immersion blender, puree the roots in the bowl with the cream. Otherwise, mix the milled roots together with the cream, adding additional cream until the texture is to your liking.
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- If you don’t have a food mill or an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or a regular blender. Lacking any machinery, make a more rustic chunky mash with a potato masher.
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- Taste and adjust seasoning
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Serve
This is a good all-purpose starchy side dish. Try it in place of mashed potatoes. We enjoyed it with Lemon Chicken Scaloppine and Carrot Chervil Salad.
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Did you try it?
Let us know what you think! We’d love to see pictures and hear about your results.
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