carrot and swede (rutabaga) mash

This way of eating carrots has been in my family for generations. I’d put money on this being one of the first foods I ate as a baby as it was on our table with well over half the meals we had each week. My children love it too. We always have it with shepherds pie, roast dinners and at Christmas. I love the fact that lots of you are now having this at Thanksgiving having learned it in my cooking classes.

When I first moved to California I went off for one of my first shopping trips and had a nightmare finding swede. I asked countless baffled shop assistants ‘where are your swedes?’, I think they thought I was on a blonde man hunt. Thankfully Google helped me realise I’d been asking for totally the wrong thing. Not the last time I realised that we really are a two countries divided by a common language.

Swede is known as rutabaga over there – not the most obvious name to be fair. Even with the name being so confusing, people still were curious why I was buying it. So I decided I must share the recipe and hopefully spread the swede/rutabaga love so that it gains its rightful place on the shelves in America.

Ingredients (serves 4)

8 large carrots, buy organic and you don’t need to peel them

1 swede (rutabaga)

1 teaspoon Dijon or half a teaspoon English mustard

1-3 teaspoons of salted butter

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make:

1. Boil a kettle or saucepan of water.
2. Chop your carrots into half inch thick circles. I buy organic carrots so that I don’t have to peel them, I just scrub them.
3. Peel the swede using a vegetable peeler or a small sharp knife then cut it in slices. Lay the slices flat in a stack, then cut into pinky sized fingers.
4. Put the carrots and swede into the boiling water so that they are ¾ covered, then cover the pan with a lid and boil until a knife pierces them easily. This usually takes around 15 minutes.
5. Drain the water away and then use a potato masher to mash the veggies to a chunky mash before stirring the mustard and butter into them. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
6. This can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days then reheated in the oven, tightly covered with foil. Or in the microwave.

Equipment

You can now buy the equipment I use in this recipe through my shop. I’ve spent years testing my favourite bits of equipment so rest-assured that whatever I recommend is the best tool for the job and will give you great results without cluttering your kitchen with unused tools. I receive a small affiliate fee from Amazon if you buy via my link. The products don’t cost you any more. These small fees help me keep creating all the free content I share.

Get more recipes like this

Find more recipes for carrots, swede/rutabaga and sides here.