Mashed potatoes with celeriac

Serves 8+ as side dish

Prep time: approximately 30 minutes

Years ago, I cooked thanksgiving dinner for dozens of people in our 500 square foot apartment. At the last minute, I had to run into lab for an experiment (I was in graduate school at the time) - things were, as you can imagine, pretty hectic. I “assigned” Josh the mashed potatoes. He did well - and now he is our home’s go-to mashed potato maker. This recipe comes from him.

4 pounds yukon gold potatoes

2 celeriac (also called celery root)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, unsalted

1t paprika

1 head roasted garlic

1t olive oil (for roasted garlic, vegetable oil or spray is fine to substitute here)

Salt and pepper

Start by cutting the garlic at a cross-section and, brushing the flesh side with a bit of olive oil, and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Wrap each half of the garlic head in foil and put at a 325 degree F oven for ~40 minutes.

Peel the celery root (as my daughter says “so it’s not so ugly”) and cut into pieces that are approximately the same size as your potatoes. Wash potatoes. Put celeriac and potatoes in a large pot of water. Add several generous pinches of salt and bring to a boil. Boil until everything is fork tender - the amount of time will depend on the size of your potatoes. When tender, drain the water and return to the pot. Squeeze the roasted garlic over the potatoes, then add butter, buttermilk and paprika. Mash first with a potato masher, then, once pieces have been largely broken up, continue with a fork until you reach your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

If you have leftovers - I strongly recommend using them in a chorizo and potato pie - this is a real favorite at our house!