Sneaky Mash

Creamy, delicious, sweet & buttery –

who doesn’t like mashed potatoes?

But these are not potatoes. 😉

Any guesses?

We received a bunch of turnips from our CSA, & I was determined to get some in Dave!  Now he is pretty good about eating his vegetables, but he is fairly particular.  He has been branching out more & more, so have faith those of you with picky veggie eaters!

If Dave had not known I was cooking turnips, I doubt he would have guessed the secret ingredient.  After sampling my share – he wasn’t about to eat turnips after all – he gave me the go ahead to make this for both of us in the future.  Epic success!

Not only is this mash packed with vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium & even calcium from the turnips, it carries a good dose of protein as well from savory, buttery great northern beans.

Whipped Turnip & White Beans with Thyme & Truffle Oil

makes 2 servings

• 3 medium turnips, peeled & quartered
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt & pepper
• 1 T fresh thyme
• 1 small leek or 2 – 3 baby leeks, sliced in thin circles
• 1.5 C cooked great northern beans
• [almond] milk, optional
• [earth balance] butter or truffle oil, optional

Preheat oven to 350*F.

Toss turnips with olive oil, season with salt, pepper & thyme.  Roast for 30 – 40 minutes, tossing occasionally, until tender & lightly golden.  Add leek & beans during last 10 minutes of roasting.

Remove from oven & puree with a handheld blender, adding a dash of almond milk if needed to achieve smooth consistency [I only added about 1 tablespoon].  Season to taste, stirring in “butter” if desired or drizzle individual servings with truffle oil.

This creamy, savory mash would be especially tasty paired with sauteed greens — am I pushing it? — or a stir-fry mushroom dish.  A great replacement for comforting mashed potatoes, I would wager some kids [& husbands] would not realize what they were missing.  If you are not sure about going full force, start small & simply add a couple turnips to your roasting potatoes & then puree with the beans.

I like most vegetables just fine but never thought I would be excited I still have turnips on hand, because we are making this again before the end of the week!

~

Do you like turnips?  Do you ever hide veggies in dishes?