roasted garlic can make anything edible (recipe: creamed turnips and celeriac with roasted garlic)

I think it's fair to say that the turnip isn't anybody's favorite vegetable, along with most bitter things. But I've learned to like it, even love it if prepared well.

In this case, I decided to mash it up with celeriac (also known as celery root) and roasted garlic for something like mashed potatoes, minus the hefty starch. I was inspired to try this because of these lovely scarlet and purple-top turnips from the farmers market.

Aren't they pretty?

This was also my first experiment with celery root, something I keep meaning to try. Celeriac is a humble, knobby vegetable that smells of celery but has a taste and texture similar to most other root vegetables. It can be a bit intimidating if it's big and especially bumpy, but it's fairly easy to manage. Ditch the vegetable peeler and just slice off the skin right down the side with a sharp knife. Turnips don't need to be peeled at all.

As I said above, roasted garlic makes everything taste better, and it's very easy to prepare it. Preheat the oven to 425F and peel off the outer layers of papery skin from a whole bulb. Drizzle the garlic with a teaspoon of olive oil and wrap it in foil or parchment. Roast for about 25 minutes, until a clove can be easily pierced with a fork. Cool before handling, then just pop out the cloves through their skin.

Creamed Turnips & Celeriac with Roasted Garlic

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 turnips, chopped

1 palm-sized celeriac, peeled and chopped

cloves from 1 head of roasted garlic (as explained above)

3 T. plain yogurt

2 T. pastured butter

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the turnips and celeriac. Boil for about 20 minutes, until the celeriac is tender. Drain well and remove to a large bowl with the roasted garlic. Mash with the yogurt and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!