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Mashed Potatoes and Rutabaga (Scottish "Neeps and Tatties") Recipe
By bookworm2211
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My Grandmother always made this for special occasions. It is easy and tastier than plain mashed potatoes. It is really good with turkey.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 pounds potatoes (about 6 medium sized)
- 3 pounds rutabaga (if it is 3 1/2 pounds or 2 1/2 pounds, it's fine)
- 2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste
- 1 cup hot milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground (if possible) pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible), or to taste
- I tablespoon chopped parsley, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel and cut rutabaga and potatoes into two inch pieces and put into separate saucepans. Cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt to each pan. Cook until tender, remove from heat and drain. Leave in pan. Rutabaga will take about 30 minutes, and potatoes will take less time (about 5 minutes less). Both are done when they are not firm when you jab them with a fork.
- Heat the milk. Mash the drained potatoes in the pan. Add all the hot milk and mash potatoes some more (adding the milk before the butter makes the potatoes smoother). Add 2 tablespoons butter. Mash some more. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Mash drained rutabaga in the pot in which they were cooked. Add 2 tablespoons butter and mash some more.
- Combine mashed rutabaga and potatoes; add pepper, and nutmeg. Mash some more. Taste and add more salt if necessary. If you wish, garnish with chopped parsley.
Member recipes are not tested by the CHOW food team.
Maybe there is a genetic reason rutabagas taste bitter to some people. See:
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler...
I should have included instructions for choosing a good rutabaga. Note that when selecting rutabagas from the store, look for firm, evenly colored specimens (If the greens are still attached (hardly ever) the greens should be crisp, not wilted or brown.). They can be stored under refrigeration for about two weeks in a plastic bag. They should be peeled before cooking, as the peel can be woody and bitter and the usual wax coating is nasty. Keep rutabagas away from apples and bananas, both of which emit ethylene gas, which can give the rutabagas a bitter flavor. I have never tasted a bitter rutabaga. Some sources say they are little and bitter when grown in the summer.