Roasted Garlic and Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

There's nothing better than good old-fashioned mashed potatoes! ....................well, that's what I thought until I took a spoonful of these old-fashioned mashed potatoes with an new-fangled twist!........................

This recipe takes an old,  predictably-good standby and ................ well, just brings it to a whole new level, without adding a lot of time and fuss. Throw a few parsnips in while cooking your potatoes, add some delicious roasted garlic along with the traditional sweet cream butter and milk and finish up by using a super simple method to create a spectacular presentation. You might just have a side dish that steals the show! 

Oh, and did I hear you say that you don't have any roasted garlic? Not for long! You see, I'm including a super simple method for roasting garlic that you're going to love. Everyday plain-Jane garlic cloves are magically transformed into velvety golden epicurean delights that will keep indefinitely in the fridge. The olive oil they're stored in is a wonderful bonus that's better than any pricey, garlic-herb-infused gourmet oil. And if you have any "foodie" friends, a small jar of this lovely condiment will certainly bring huge smiles of delight and fond thoughts (of you!) each time the jar is cracked open.

P.S. If you haven't cooked much with parsnips, you're in for a treat. They have a mellow, slightly sweet flavor and combine beautifully with the potatoes and yummy garlic. If you want to experiment a bit more with this under appreciated, delicious vegetable, check out this recipe for Simple Sticky Roasted Rosemary Root Veggies or this fabulous, fun Parsnip/Pecan Pound Cake. I have a feeling you might just get as hooked on them as I am!

Roasted Garlic - in a Jar!

Ingredients:

peeled fresh garlic cloves, available in bulk at many grocery stores, in large containers at the big box grocers like Sam's and Costco
extra virgin olive oil
sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme, optional
1/2 pint or pint size jars

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. Fill jars about 3/4 full with fresh peeled garlic cloves.  Cover garlic with olive oil to about 1/4-inch of top of jar. Add several springs of rosemary or thyme and poke down to immerse in oil.

3. Place jar/s in a small pan. If you're roasting many jars, place them on a sheet pan and bake for 40 minutes or until garlic is very tender when a knife is inserted into one of the cloves. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove herb sprigs and cover tightly. Refrigerate or freeze (will keep for a month or more in the refridg and up to a year in the freezer).

Roasted Garlic and Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 pounds russett potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
4 medium parsnips, about 12 ounces, peeled and cut into approximately 2 inch pieces
6 medium roasted garlic cloves, mashed, see recipe
½ cup milk
¼ cup butter
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ cup panko, panko are Japanese bread crumbs.They are available at many grocery stores. I found them at Super Walmart in the Asian section.
¼ cup melted butter
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Place potatoes and parnsips into a medium size sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork.

2. Mash potatoes and parsnips with a potato masher. Heat butter and milk in the microwave for one minute. Stir milk mixture into potato/parsnips. Stir in mashed garlic pulp and salt.

3. Either spoon or pipe potato mixture on to small individual size serving dishes or parchment-lined baking sheets leaving 2 inches between mounds.

4. To pipe, place a large star tip on a pastry bag and fill bag with potato mixture. Pipe circular swirls into small serving dishes on parchment-lined baking sheet. If you don't have a pastry bag, snip one bottom corner off of a plastic zippered freezer bag. Place large star tip into snipped out opening in bag. Carefully spoon the potato mixture into bag. Squeeze the air out of bag and twist the top closed. To pipe, hold the filled bag perpendicular to the serving dish or baking sheet, then force the potato mixture through the top by squeezing the end of the bag with your writing hand and supporting the bag with your other hand. Pipe circular swirls.

5. Sprinkle mounds or swirls with panko and drizzle with melted butter. I used about 1 teaspoon per swirl. Sprinkle liberally with freshly ground pepper.

6. At this point the potatoes can be baked at 350˚ for 25-30 minutes until heated through and tips are slightly browned. They can also be frozen on a baking sheet, then wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a zip lock bag. To bake frozen potatoes, remove while still frozen from bag and place on a baking sheet. Allow to unthaw for 1 hour then bake as directed above.

Serves 10-12

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