roasted root vegetable mash

in the winter season, it is sometimes too cold/wet/rainy for me to want to go to the outdoor market. when i do, i am rewarded by the abundance of apples, pears, greens, and root vegetables. recently at a restaurant, i had a mix of vegetables mashed together. I decided to make my own version at home. roasting the vegetables caramelizes them, lending a sweet flavor to the puree. with a nice blend of vegetables, try making roasted root vegetable mash. it is a perfect and simple side dish for these colder months.

start by peeling the vegetables you will be using.

you can pick out any starchy vegetable at your market, but here i used about half of one butternut squash, a small sweet potato, two carrots, and two parsnips.

once they are peeled, chop them up into uniform pieces. if you know one vegetable will take longer to cook, you can chop it up a little smaller so they can all roast on the same pan.

mix the vegetables in a bowl with olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.

spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet, and roast at 400 degrees F for 35-45 minutes.

once they start to caramelize and are soft enough to pierce easily with a fork you can take them out.

let them cool slightly, then put into a container that allows you to use an immersion blender easily. add 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth.

blend, blend, blend until the vegetables break up and start to become smooth. add in more broth 1/4 cup at a time until it reaches the consistency you like.

you can plate in a large bowl for family style, or plate individual portions on each plate. 

you can garnish the top with pecans. or chop the pecans and sprinkle them on top of the plated vegetable mash for a crunchy texture.

inspired by a side at Hu Kitchen

roasted root vegetable mash with butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot and parsnip

makes about 2 cups

ingredients:

6 cups of peeled and chopped root vegetables
(i used: half of one butternut squash, 1 small sweet potato, 2 carrots and 2 parsnips)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 - 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup pecans, whole or chopped (optional)


directions:

 1.   preheat oven to 400 degrees F. coat the peeled and chopped root vegetables with the olive oil in a bowl. give a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper to your tastes, and incorporate that in.

2.   spread the oiled vegetable pieces on a nonstick baking tray, lined with parchment for easy cleanup.

3.   bake for 30-45 minutes until you can smash or pierce easily a piece with a fork. you want the veggies to be fully cooked, but not dried out from overcooking. i took mine out when they were just starting to caramelize.

4.   cool vegetables slightly, then transfer roasted vegetables to a container with tall sides that will allow your immersion blender to fit easily.

5.   add in 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth. slowly start to blend the vegetables and the broth with an immersion blender. if it seems dry, add in additional broth 1/4 cup at a time. (for my vegetables, i ended up using about 3/4 cup of chicken broth)

6.   once you are done blending you can either transfer them to a plate for serving family style, or portion onto individual plates. sprinkle with pecans before serving, if desired.


tips:

- even if you overbake your vegetables, you can easily add more chicken broth to help blend

- if you are using different vegetables that you know may take longer to cook, you can just cut it in smaller pieces compared to other quicker-cooking types. this way you can cook them all for the same amount of time,

- this is a good side dish to a meal with an acidic sauce. i served it with chicken breast with a balsamic vinegar pan sauce.