Thanksgiving has the most food traditions of any American holiday. If I asked anyone off the street what they’re planning to cook for the big day, they’d say their Grandmother’s stuffing or their sister-in-law’s green bean casserole. Some swear by their mother’s cranberry sauce while others by the jellied kind from the can (I shamelessly admit that I love the canned), so I won’t try to convince you of any other Must Try! recipes this holiday season. Maybe one day in January you’ll eat your potatoes fingerling and roasted, but for the next month, you’ll have eyes only for potatoes that are sweet and covered in marshmallows and pecans. Whenever you’re ready to try this turnip potato mash, it’ll be here waiting.

One of the ingredients in my CSA share this week was purple-top turnips. I’d never cooked with turnips before, though I’d eaten them a few times, usually mashed and with lots of butter. I’d also been getting potatoes every week in my share, and I figured, why not mash them together? Potatoes and turnips aren’t that different (they both taste great mashed and covered in butter), so I looked up several recipes and then just kinda winged it. This is a really easy side dish, and a good one to remember in a couple weeks when you’re preparing your Thanksgiving menu. Or a couple weeks after that once you’ve awoken from your turkey coma.

Turnip and Potato Mash with Sage Butter 

Makes five side dish servings

Total time: 35 minutes

In my basket:

5 medium Potatoes (from Stearns Farm, Framingham MA)

5 medium Purple-top Turnips (from Stearns Farm, Framingham MA)

2 handfuls of fresh Sage (from Stearns Farm, Framingham MA)

3 cloves of Garlic (from Stearns Farm, Framingham MA)

From the pantry:

3 tbsp Butter (I use a vegan butter)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash, peel, and medium dice the turnips and potatoes. Peel the garlic.
2. Add turnips, potatoes, garlic and half the sage to a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Set aside and keep covered.
3. While the vegetables simmer, heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. As the butter melts and turns brown, add the remaining sage. Cook until the sage starts to crackle, about 1 minute.
4. Pour the sage butter over the vegetables in the pot. Salt and pepper to taste, then mash using a hand masher, or for less lumps, use an electric hand mixer. Serve while hot. Enjoy!

Alice Kathryn Richardson is a new media photojournalist and creator of The Clean Food Club. She previously spent two years working on Deserts in the District, a series of short-form documentaries exploring food access and hunger in Washington, DC. She is committed to supporting local and sustainable food businesses by telling their stories with photo and video. Follow her on Twitter @AKR_Pictures.