I have gone on and on here about how much I love mashed potatoes (one of my fave recipes). Who doesn't really? However, I do consider them "special occasion" food with their copious amounts of butter, cheese and cream.
The rest of the time I often just puree cauliflower for a "faux" mashed potato fix and don't add much of anything, it doesn't need it. Kind of like this Winter Root Vegetable Puree, it has so much flavor from the veggies themselves. I love, love root veggies more than one can imagine, I'm not even sure where it came from. I didn't grow up eating this stuff. But geez it's such a yummy, low-calorie way to enjoy what your brain thinks is mashed potatoes. It totally satisfies my urge for that starch side dish.
One of the root vegetables I used was celery root. Have you ever used it or seen one? They are pretty ugly and look challenging to cut..but they're not. They peel easily with a knife and are available at almost every market. Try adding it to soup, it's delicious.
The turnips add a peppery flavor to this puree while the parsnips add sweetness. Turnips and parsnips play well together and celery root is just a bonus. So much flavor allowed me to only use 1 Tablespoon of butter and nonfat milk, therefore the calorie count is really low for this dish.
Winter Root Vegetable Puree
Recipe from: Created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com | Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 14 oz (almost a pound, 399 g) celery root~ celeraic, peeled and cubed into 1-1/2" pieces
- 14 oz (almost a pound, 399 g) parsnip~ peeled and sliced into 1" thick coins
- 12 oz (3/4 pound, 387 g) turnips, peeled and cubed into 1-1/2" pieces
- 1 cup nonfat milk
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- 1/8 cup green onion for garnish
Directions
- Add celery root, parsnips and turnips to a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer about 15 minutes or until vegetables are easily pierced with a fork. Drain.
- Add half of the vegetables and half of the milk, butter, salt and pepper to a blender. Puree until smooth, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients. (If you have a high-powered blender start by pureeing 1/2 the vegetables and then add the rest of the ingredients and you will be able to puree all in the same lot. If not, puree in two batches as stated.)
- Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with green onion.
Cathy owns a vineyard and winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. She is a food writer forDavis Life Magazine and blogs daily about wine, food and everydayliving. She lives with her husbandand two sons. You can visit her at noblepig.com.