Savory Root Veggie Mash

Comforting, nourishing, and goes with pretty much everything, this savory mash can be served as is or fried into scrumptious cakes.

There's something just so, well, down to earth about getting down to the earth and harvesting roots.

Down here in the sub-tropics of Ecuador, it’s too warm and humid to grow potatoes, but we have other incredible roots to enjoy — yuca, taro, and purple sweet potato. You can forage for these interesting and tasty roots at Latino and Asian markets in your city or town.

This recipe works with all of them. So North or South, you can have your mash and eat it too. 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes, yuca, taro, or purple sweet potato

• Generous dollop of cooking oil. Sunflower is a great all purpose oil.

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• 1 red onion, quartered and sliced

• 2 scallions or Egyptian onion, sliced

• Handful of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, and/or marjoram work well here)

• Generous dash of spices: ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and/or chili all work great. Use what you have and what you like

• Salt and pepper to taste

That’s all for the mash. If you want to fry it up into cakes, you will also need:

• 2 Tbsp flour (to keep the dish gluten-free and up the protein content, I recommend a bean or split pea flour)

• 1 egg or 2 Tbsp vegan egg substitute

Utensils

• Medium sized pot

• Medium sized skillet

• wooden spoon or

• something to mash the roots (pestle, potato masher, large fork, wine bottle). Skip the processor, you want a nice chunky texture for this mash

Directions

1. Wash and peel your roots. If using potatoes, it’s nice to leave a little of the peel on to give the mash more texture. If using other roots, peel thoroughly.

2. Put water in the pot and set to boil while you cut up your roots into large chunks.

3. Add a dash of salt and roots to the boiling water. Cook until just tender but not mushy.

4. In the meantime, prepare the garlic, onion, herbs, and spices. Keep an eye on the roots so they don’t overcook.

5. Drain cooked roots through a colander. Set aside. Rinse out the pot you cooked them in.

6. Heat oil in the skillet and sauté the spices, garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. Add salt, pepper and fresh herbs. Turn off the heat, and mix it all together.

7. Dump the drained roots back into the medium sized pot and mash them up a bit. Pour/scrape the contents of the skillet into the pot with the roots and mix with a wooden spoon.

8. Continue mashing until you have the consistency you want.

Or, fry it up into scrumptious cakes. Here's how:

• Incorporate one egg (or egg substitute) and 2 Tbsp flour into the mash. Mix until just incorporated. Season a bit more if needed with salt and pepper or a dash of hot sauce.

• Wipe out the skillet you used to sauté the spices. Pour in a hefty dollop of high-heat cooking oil like sunflower or peanut.

• Wait until the oil gets hot. Then drop spoonfuls of your mash batter into the hot oil and shape them into circular mounds about an inch thick. They don’t have to be perfect.

• Fry until golden on both sides. Serve immediately.

---

Kristen Krash is the co-founder and director of Sueño de Vida, a regenerative cacao farm and reforestation mission in Ecuador. Sueño de Vida works to educate and inspire everyday people about permaculture, sustainable living, environmental activism, and healthy living all in the name of living more in harmony with nature to create a better world for us all.

You can support the Sueño de Vida mission today by purchasing our cacao or contributing to direct reforestation.

Thank you.

---