Sort of like mashed potatoes, but with turnips and onions. There are some great tasting yellow fleshed potatoes appearing at market right now and these give a great nutty and sweet flavor to the mash. The potato is there to add texture and to soften the sharpness turnip sometimes has. If you do not have these potatoes, use a russet instead. I like the scallions for their bright flavor and lighter oniony-ness. Feel free to substitute leek or brown onion if you don’t have scallions.
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, around 6 ounces, peeled 6-8 Tokyo turnips, peeled 6-8 scallions, roots and green parts removed, green tops reserved 4-6 ounces cream, ½&½, or milk at room temperature 2-4 tablespoons butter at room temperature 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
Cut the potato and the turnips into ½ – ¾ inch pieces and put into a pot.
Finely slice the scallions and add to the pot.
Fill the pot with cold water to just cover the vegetables, and add in a good pinch of salt (around a teaspoon).
Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Gently simmer until the vegetables are just tender, around 15-20 minutes.
While the vegetables simmer, finely slice the scallion tops so you have around a half cup of them.
When the vegetables are tender, drain them, reserving 1 cup of the liquid for thinning the puree if you want to use something other than one of the dairy products listed.
Return the vegetables to the pot, and place the pot over low heat for a couple minutes to drive off extra moisture, stirring and to prevent scorching.
Remove the pot from the heat and start mashing the vegetables. Add the butter to the pot and mash, and then season with salt and pepper and add the thyme. Stir to incorporate well. Now add the dairy of your choice to thin the puree to the consistency you prefer, stirring well to blend all the flavors. (If you prefer not to use dairy for the puree, use the reserved cooking water instead.)
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Vegetable purees, especially those with potatoes, I find can usually stand more salt than I would normally think prudent. You might want to add more butter for a smoother, richer taste as well.
Scatter the sliced scallion tops over the puree, and stir in, or not, as you prefer.
The puree is ready to serve.
Chef’s Notes and Tips:
If you want to keep this vegetarian/vegan, use olive oil in lieu of butter and use a nice vegetable stock instead of the dairy. I find turnips have an affinity for cardamom and cinnamon, so you could pull the thyme and use a bit of both or either. Use a neutral flavored oil or a lighter flavored olive oil if you do, instead of a Tuscan style oil as I think the flavors would clash. Rosemary instead of thyme would be nice, as would slivered sage leaves. You could melt the butter and gently fry the sages leaves to season the butter and crisp the leaves to use as garnish at the end. If you have some roasted garlic puree on hand, this would make a nice addition also.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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