Marbleized Root Vegetable Puree Food

MARBLEIZED ROOT VEGETABLE PURéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2-quart baking dish. Cook potatoes, turnips, parsnips and pear in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Return to pot. Stir over low heat until excess moisture evaporates, about 1 minute. Add cream and 5 tablespoons butter and mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook carrots in another large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Transfer to processor. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Alternate potato and carrot purees by 1/2 cupfuls in baking dish. Draw knife through purees to marbleize. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Drizzle over purees. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg. Cover with foil. (Can be made 1 day ahead; chill.) Bake covered puree until heated through, about 35 minutes (or 45 minutes if chilled).

PUREE OF THREE ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Put all the vegetables in a large saucepan,cover with cold water and simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes or until tender; drain vegetables, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Force the potatoes through a ricer into a bowl or mash them in the bowl with a potato masher.
• Puree the parsnips in a food processor with the butter; stir into the potatoes.
• Coarsely shred the carrots into the bowl and gently but thoroughly stir them in, adding salt and pepper to taste and enough of the cooking liquid to attain the preferred consistency.
• Can be made the day before and refrigerated; reheat in microwave to serve.

ROOT VEGETABLE PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the carrots, parsnips, turnip and sweet potato with the olive oil and place the vegetables on a large baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 30-45 minutes, turning frequently. Set aside to cool.
• Peel the sweet potato. Finely chop all of the roasted vegetables and transfer to a large saucepan.
• Add the celery root, mace, nutmeg, thyme, broth and Sherry vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add the salt and pepper. Serve with the veal shanks.

PARSNIP OR ROOT VEGETABLE PURéE

Steps:

• Any number of root vegetables can be used to make this purée. Parsnips alone make a sweet purée with a lovely creamy yellow color. Turnips cook quickly and make a loose nutty purée. Carrots, celery root, rutabagas, and kohlrabi can all be turned into a purée as well. Peel and cut the vegetables into large pieces. Cook in salted boiling water until tender. Purée in a food mill and enrich with butter, cream, or olive oil. Celery root and turnips, cut into smaller pieces, can be cooked in butter or olive oil, covered, over low heat without any water. Stir often and lower the heat if the pan starts to scorch.
• A purée may be made from a combination of root vegetables; celery root, carrots, and rutabagas make a delicious combination, and turnips and kohlrabi are also nice together. Puréed potatoes are especially tasty mixed with celery root or parsnip purée. When making combination purées it is best to cook the vegetables separately since they all require different cooking times. They can then be puréed together.

MARBLEIZED ROOT VEGETABLE PUREE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish or casserole.
• Cook potatoes, turnips, parsnips and pear together in a large pot of boiling water until very tender, 20 minutes or more. Drain, return to pot and stir vegetables and pear over medium heat until moisture evaporates, about a minute or so. Add cream and 3 tablespoons of butter, and mash smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a separate pot cook carrots in salted boiling water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, transfer to food processor, add remaining butter and nutmeg, and puree. Taste; season with salt and pepper as desired.
• Alternate potato and carrot puree by half-cupfuls in the baking dish. Draw a knife through and swirl to marbleize. Drizzle melted butter over top, sprinkle with additional nutmeg, cover with foil and bake until heated through, approximately 30 minutes.