Turnips & Carrots: Irish as it gets

Last year, I was out of ideas for vegetables, and blegged a few recipes.

Then Gabriel Malor at Ace got into the mix and we had a lot of fun with folks exchanging recipes. Let’s try that again!

This year Gabriel is giving us another one for the sweet tooth, and I’ve already put the ingredients on my list. Check out his Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip! It’s a dessert I think my littlest nieces will love (it’s fun to dip cookies!) and it’s nutritious, too. Got yer Beta-Carotene, yer protein, dairy…good stuff!

Here is one if you’re reading this at work and have no idea what to bring tomorrow. You stop off at the store, pick up a few things and you’re off and running:

MASHED TURNIPS AND CARROTS

2 lbs carrots
2 lbs turnips (or rutabagas)
light cream
butter
brown sugar (optional)
salt
pepper

Peel the carrots and slice them any way you please – you’re going to boil the hell out of them, anyway.

Peel the turnip and do the same. DO NOT try to peel the turnip with a veggie peeler, you’ll just break your hand. Take a sharp knife and carefully cut the rind away. Carefully is the operative word. I still have a scar on my left hand from the slippery knife.

Boil, boil, boil the veggies until the turnips are soft.

Drain water (try to catch the drainage into a pot and then freeze it; it’s a wonderful veggie broth base for soup)

Using a mixer (or by hand if you are a glutton for punishment) mash veggies, adding butter, salt, pepper and a little light cream, or milk, to taste. Since these are not “thick” veggies, you don’t want to add too much liquid, or the whole thing gets watery.

The brown sugar is totally optional. If you add it, be sparing – use 1/4 of a cup or so – it gives a sort of glaze to the whole affair, but it’s not essential.

This is a delicious way to sweeten turnips, and it is a very “Irish” sort of dish. I particularly like it when serving fresh ham, but it’s a staple on our Thanksgiving table, too!

Related: Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Feel free to leave your own veggie recipes in the comments section!

And pray your Thanksgiving is not like this one