Mashed Turnip & Apple ♥

Come winter, mashed root vegetables have a special appeal.

This is nothing more than turnip and apple mashed with a little white wine -- and simply lovely. The technique calls for mashing and then moving to the oven -- I tried skipping the oven step but found the wine a little harsh. The whole dish mellowed, somehow, during 30 minutes in the oven. It's worth the time.

Be aware that supermarkets some times mislabel rutabagas, calling them 'turnips'. Purple-topped turnips have purple-to-magenta skins on the stem ends. For a picture comparison, see this post at StephenCooks. Still, don't worry too much about mixing them up since mashed rutabagas and apples are good too.

The recipe is inspired by one of my favorite 'new' cookbooks, This Good Food, Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen -- even though it's a castoff from my friend Anne when she and her husband redid their kitchen and 'cleared out'. The recipes are spare and simple and beautifully organized by season. Two favorite recipes from the Thanksgiving collection are from This Good Food, the gorgeous carrot puree and the autumn sunchoke salad. Anyway, Ann and Randy, thanks!

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FROM THE ARCHIVES
If mashed turnip and apple appeals, there's a whole collection of pureed vegetable recipes in the Recipe Box.

A Year Ago Today: Daikon & Pepper Salad -- "This simple daikon-pepper-watercress combination tasted so fresh and alive."

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FROM GREAT FOOD BLOGS
Too Many Chefs ... parsnip & turnip soup

Cook with Kerry ... smashed carrots & turnip

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MASHED TURNIP & APPLE

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 90 minutes
Serves 4

Water to cover, enough to cover turnips and apples, not salted
1 pound purple-topped turnips, trimmed, peeled and chopped into equal-size pieces
2 apples, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
1 talespoon cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Fresh grated nutmeg

Bring the water to boil while the prepping the turnips. (To save a dish, pick a saucepan that you can also do the mashing in.) Add the turnips, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. [TURN THE OVEN ON TO 300F.] Add the apples and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes, until turnips are fully cooked (a knife should slip in and out with no trouble). Drain and return to hot pot. Mash til smooth (a little texture is good, these mash very easily with a hand masher). Add the wine, butter and cream. Season to taste.

Transfer to a baking dish (individual ramekins look kinda cool ...) and top with nutmeg. Bake for 30 minutes. Reheats well in the microwave.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 125 Cal (30% from Fat, 5% from Protein, 65% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 2 g Sat Fat; 18 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb15; 43 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 79 mg Sodium; 10 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE
This Good Food, Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen