Thanksgiving Dinner - Mashed Turnip/Rutabaga

Every year for Thanksgiving my mom made mashed turnip.  So did her mother and her mother and so on.  Mashed turnip is something that I grew up eating on Thanksgiving.  But it was not until recently that I discovered what I had been eating all those years has been rutabaga.  So, I call this recipe mashed turnip but it is really mashed rutabaga.  It is a large root vegetable that you need a large sharp knife and lots of arm strength to get through.  The ones you find in the store will have a wax coating on them.  I make this recipe the way my mom did, with a sprinkle of nutmeg.  Rutabaga is an old fashioned food but for me, it is full of family memories.  I grew my own rutabagas this year but they are easy to find in local grocery stores.  You will see that the stores use the word rutabaga and turnip interchangeably.  Turnips are small, potato sized vegetables.  Rutabagas are large softball sized veggies with a wax coating.  You can mash them both but the flavor of the rutabaga is so much better.  Mashed rutabaga was only served on Thanksgiving, so it may be more associated with the holiday meal than any other food.  My great grandmother used to serve hers mixed with mashed potatoes. 

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 medium sized rutabaga, cut into cubes, yields 8-9 cups
water
1 cup milk
4 TBS butter
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Here's how:

Peel and cube the rutabaga.

Rutabaga whole

Cubed rutabga

Place the cubed rutabaga into a large pot.  Cover with water.

Water added

Place on the stove top and bring to a boil.

Once it hits a boil, reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour and a half until the rutabaga is fork tender.  If too much water evaporates, add some while cooking.

Strain the pot.

Place the rutabaga, milk, butter and nutmeg in a large bowl and use a mixer to completely blend and mash until smooth.

If it is too thick, add more milk until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes.