Comfort food comes in many edible shapes in sizes. Sometimes it is pasta, frequently it is
After not having cooked anything in a week and not really having any down time either, this past Sunday I made a real roast chicken dinner, complete with gravy, my favorite Brussels sprouts and this lovely starchy side dish of mashed parsnips.
Mashed potatoes aren’t always my favorite, but if you cover them in homemade gravy they are totally divine. Even better? Try adding some parsnip to add a bit more flavour. Oh and, of course the cream cheese is necessary, because all comfort food requires cheese. I actually kept these mashed parsnips and potatoes in the oven for a good 25 minutes while the chicken finished cooking and it worked well being prepared ahead. I love dishes that take the pressure off of timing!
Mashed Parsnip and Potato Recipe with Chives and Cream Cheese
(serves 3-4)
Fill a pot with cold salted water. Peel the parsnips and chop into ~1 inch sized pieces and add to the pot as you go. Clean potatoes and peel if desired or leave unpeeled. Chop into pieces slightly smaller then the parsnip and add to the pot.
Bring to a simmer and cook until both parsnips and potatoes are tender, test both. (It took about 20 minutes for mine.) Drain the potatoes and put back in hot pan. Add a good helping of salt and pepper and mash roughly with a fork until more or a less even. Add cream cheese and chives and whip in.
If you are making slightly ahead of time, this keeps well in an oven pour into a baking dish, smooth the top and sprinkle with pepper. It will brown nicely, but if you are going to have it in for a long while then cover with tin foil so it doesn't dry out.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }