Sweet Potato and Turnip Mash with Sage Butter

This could not be an easier or more elegant side dish to serve and it utilizes so many fresh and in season ingredients from the garden, CSA's, and produce delivery boxes this time of year. 

I adapted this version of sweet potato and turnip mash by combining two different turnip mash recipes, then incorporated homemade sage butter and fried onions — here is what evolved:

Ingredients for the Mash:

• 4 turnips, diced
  
• 2 sweet potatoes, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 5-7 whole sage leaves
• Whole milk to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Fried onions (recipe below)
• Sage butter (recipe below)

Preparation:

Combine diced turnips, potatoes, garlic, and sage in a medium size pot and cover with water. Bring to a hard boil and then turn down to medium/low for a steady simmering boil until vegetables are fork tender. Remove from stove drain.

Place the vegetables in a bowl to either hand mash or use a mixer. Start to mash or mix adding a little milk to get a creamy texture. Incorporate the sage butter (recipe below) and continue to blend. Of course using a mixer will give you more of a blended texture while hand mashing might give you more of a rustic chunkier texture (your preference). Top with the fried onion (recipe below) and one reserved sage leaf from the butter to garnish.

Ingredients and direction for the fried onions:

• 1/4 cup of spring onions sliced thinly into little rings
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

 

Heat olive oil in a pan until shimmering. Add the onion rings and turn the heat down to medium, stirring frequently and being careful to watch them turn to a golden brown (30-40 minutes). Once at that point they can burn at any minute. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain the oil.

Ingredients and direction for the sage butter:

• 1/4 stick of butter
• 5-6 whole sage leaves

Heat butter until it is just about to start foaming. Add the sage leaves and stir as they crackle in the hot butter for about one minute, really allowing the butter to fully absorb the flavors and aroma of the sage leaves. Remove from the stove and add to the turnip potato mixture, reserving one leaf for garnish.

A little behind the scenes scoop is I have never really been a big fan of sweet potatoes, but I have been trying to eat more of them over the plain old baking potato since they have so many more health benefits. This mixture of turnip and sage butter blended with the sweet potato really made this dish a true winner that will be added to the rotation of sides, even for a non sweet potato fan like me.

I really hope you give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes for you. A lot of people see turnips but are never quite sure what to do with them. Here is your chance to shine!

If you do regularly cook with turnips, what are your favorite uses?

E.A.T. local E.A.T. well