Nice addition to a Good ol' Roast Beef Dinner.....Celeriac Mashed Potatoes and Parsnip puree?

Got home from work today, and saw that Danielle had a nice big roast waiting to get thrown in the oven.    Immediately, I began to salivate.    What a great way to end the week, with a nice roast beef dinner.     Who says roasts have to be done on weekends?    Isn't that the general rule?    Big roast dinners on a Sunday night?    Fooey!    Weekends can be too busy to plan and prepare a big roast dinner.....unless of course, you buy a pre-cooked roast, bag of mashed potato, and frozen Yorkshire pudding.....full of salt, preservatives and crap......all cooked in huge batches.    Goop.    Shit.    Yuk.

Once Danielle put the roast in the oven, and the smell started to permeate the air....I was getting excited to see what else was on the menu.     Mashed potato and ....what's this?    Celery root!!!    Awesome!!!     Cook and mash the two together, with some butter.....heaven.

Celery Root ( or celeriac) kind of looks like a shribbled up head.
But it tastes really good!!
First thing you have to do is slice off the rough surface.    Once cleaned up, chop enough celery root to add to your chopped up potatoes.     We used 1/3 celery root, 2/3 potatoes.   
Make sure the celery root is chopped about the same size as your potatoes, so they all cook at the same rate.
Put your celery root, and potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water, untill a fork slides through the potatoe with no resistance.
Drain potatoes/root , and mash all together in a bowl.    Add 1-2 tbsp of butter, and a little milk to reach desired consistancy.
Mashed potatoes, with a very subtle hint of celery.     Salt...pepper....awesome.
Seriously.....it is real easy to do, cheap, and a nice kick to the sometimes boring potato.


Once I wiped the drool off my chin....and Danielle took my tasting spoon away from me, I decided that I would experiment with something that i've been DYING to try for a looooong time.     Parsnip Puree.
I've been watching alot of food network shows, and noticed recently, that alot of chefs are using a parsnip puree to go with their food creations.    It almost seems like a trend....so I thought i'd give it a whirl.

Parsnips resemble carrots, only they are white and have a stronger flavour.    I love them roasted.....droool.
This was my first experiment making a parsnip puree, and I would deem it a success.....Danielle loved it, and I almost finished the serving bowl.
Here's what I did....

5 parsnips peeled, and cut up into chunks.
1/4 sweet vidalia onion cut into chunks
low fat sour creme 1%
butter - 1-2tbsps
freshly ground nutmeg.

Boil the parsnip chunks, and onion for about 15 minutes, untill a fork passes through the parsnip with a little resistance.
drain the pot (reserving some of the cooking water), and put the parsnip and onions into a food processor or blender.
add some of the drained cooking water, and a large tablespoon of sour creme.
blend it all up untill you get a nice smooth consistancy......not too runny.   If it's too thick....add a little more cooking water, 1 tbsp at a time.
If you can turn a spoon of puree upside down without it running off.....I say it's good to go.
empty into a serving bowl, and stir in 1 tbsp of butter (or omit the butter if you want the low fat option)
grate some nutmeg over the top and mix in
Done!!!!

The puree was an excellent side to the roast beef.    Even a fork full of mashed celery root potatoes with a dab of the parsnip puree was delicious.    Yorkshire pudding, green beans and an ocean of gravy to add to the plate........I think a tear ran down my face while I ate....it was euphoric.