Half boiled rutabaga, half boiled potato. Mash and add butter, salt, pepper. I add a little fresh nutmeg. Hardi adds a little milk. Mash lumpy or smooth, yum. Family tradition, plus present-day creativitity, a heavenly dish with humble beginnings. The potato requires a shorter boiling time-- I waited to add the potatoes once the rutabaga chunks started to change color. Drain, steam dry over hot burner for a minute, and then add the butter and so forth.

Swedes have a pronounced flavor that does not go well with every great idea one might have-- proceed with a little care till you know this king among kings.

It turns out that after the thankless task of peeling a swede (AKA rutabaga), the resulting mash can actually be frozen and comes back a second time very nicely. (Potatoes usually don't.) A bit of separation of the water was quickly corrected by re-forking; I added buttered breadcrumbs that day and vowed, from henceforth, always to buy the biggest swede available so as to be able to freeze PLENTY and avoid that next peeling opportunity! I froze the leftovers in greased muffin cups and then popped them out once frozen with a little hot water. Bagged 'em up. Three muffin cup-fulls serve two people nicely.

Gosh is this GREAT with barbecue!!!

Rutmus-- roll the R. RrrrUT-mus!

~Susan