If you’re looking for a low effort and incredibly delicious hearty food this time of year, mash is always a winner. It goes so well with so many different meats and is versatile as it’s own dish, or as a topping – such as shepherds pie or fisherman’s pie. This Root Vegetable Mash, however, is a delicious alternative to stodgy potatoes. It’s also a really useful one to have in your repertoire if you regularly do roasts as I always find I have a carrot here and a parsnip there that didn’t make it into the meal.
The bonus of a root veg mash that doesn’t include potatoes is that it doesn’t run the risk of being gloopy.
This recipe is good with any variety of root vegetable, really, and I find so long as it totals up to about 550g it’s hard to go wrong. Some people require exact amounts, so this is the most recent version of the root vegetable mash that I’ve made. I had a large rutabaga (swede) and a few left over carrots so decided to turn them into a quick mash for a light, but filling dinner.
You can make this completely fat free – which in this case also makes it dairy free – but I really like the bit of butter in this. I find it makes it rich enough that I’m not craving chocolate pudding at the end.
- 400g Swede chopped into 3 - 4 cm chunks
- 150g Carrot chopped into 3 - 4 cm chunks
- Pinch of Nutmeg
- 40g Salted Butter (optional)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- Boil or steam vegetables as you normally would - about 30 mins till they are soft
- Drain and in a bowl, add butter, vanilla and seasoning.
- Use a masher or food processor to mash everything together until the vegetables reach a lumpy or smooth texture, as you prefer.
- Fill the Thermomix® to half way through the internal steamer basket and fill with root vegetables.
- Put the lid in place and boil for 20 - 25 minutes/ Varoma / Speed 3
- Stick a knife into one of the larger pieces of vegetable to check that it's fairly soft
- Pour out the water, but don't drain too thoroughly - a tablespoon or two of reserved water is helpful
- Tip the vegetables into the Thermomix® bowl and chop for 45 Seconds/Speed 5
- Add nutmeg, butter and seasoning and mix another 15 Seconds/Speed 5