Creamed Turnips

Instructions

1. Begin heating a large pot of water as you peel the turnips. When the water’s boiling, add the turnips and cook until soft. This may take more or less time depending on the age of the turnips; mine took about 25 minutes.
2. While the turnips are cooking, put the soymilk into a microwaveable container and add the bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorns. (I strongly recommend using a clear glass container–you’ll find out why when you try to fish those peppercorns out later!) Heat the soymilk until it is just beginning to bubble–I heated it for about 2 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds. Watch it, and don’t let it boil over. (You can do this on the stove if you prefer.) Set it aside until the turnips are done.
3. When the turnips are soft, drain them and put them back into the pan or into a large serving bowl. Using a potato masher, mash them well but don’t worry about lumps at this point.
4. Mix the 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth. Remove the bay leaves, cloves, and peppercorns from the soymilk, and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring as you add it. Put the soymilk back into the microwave (or onto the stove) and heat it, stirring often (at least every 15 seconds), until it’s bubbling and thickened, about 2 minutes in the microwave. Add salt and pepper to taste and a sprinkling of nutmeg.
5. Add the sauce to the mashed turnips. At this point, I used my super-powerful hand blender (immersion blender) to puree it to creamy smoothness. If you don’t have one, you can put the whole mixture into a food processor or blender and puree. Check the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed, and serve with a sprinkling of nutmeg on top.