Root Vegetable Mash is a fantastic way of getting 3 of your five a day in one simple side dish. Get the recipe below.

Know your roots

This root vegetable mash is a really versatile side dish that you can serve with meat, fish or a veggie/vegan option if you wish. What makes it so versatile is that you can mix and match the root vegetables depending on what you are able to get hold of.

My favourite combination is swede, parsnip and carrot but you could sub in potatoes and celeriac for example. I often use whatever comes in my veg bag and so it changes from week to week and month to month.

Some people say you should always use potato in a root vegetable mash. This is because it makes it thicker and more starchy and also stops it from being too sweet. But the reason why I like root vegetable mash so much is that it ISN'T mashed potato. I like that it's a thinner, smoother consistency and I like the hint of sweet. This can easily be tempered with some healthy seasoning. (I go heavy on the cracked black pepper!)

Swede

Swede is a round, pale yellow root vegetable If you've never heard of it before perhaps that's because you know it by a different name; rutabagas. It's related to turnips (in fact it's sometimes called turnip or neeps) but in the UK turnip usually refers to a white turnip which is slightly different from a swede and is much smaller.

In the UK you can buy swede on it's own or often as part of a roast veg pack. Many supermarkets in the UK sell bags of swede, carrots and parsnips together. Although they are designed to be roasted, these bags are perfect for turning into Root Vegetable Mash.

Carrots

We all know and love carrots. Their bright orange colour gives some fantastic colour to this mash and it's why I always use them in this recipe, even if I swap the swede and parsnips for other veg.

They are where most of the sweetness in this dish comes from so I use slightly less of these than I do the other vegetables. But, if you have an abundance of carrots then feel free to use more. The beauty of this dish if you can adjust it as you wish.

Parsnips

Parsnips are another fantastic root vegetable. In supermarkets you often find big fat parsnips. These are great for both roasting and mashing. If you're part of a veg bag scheme or grow you own you may notice they are a lot thinner than the supermarket varieties. You can still use them in this recipe but just be mindful the slimmer parts of the parsnip will cook much quicker.

The recipe