Mashed Potatoes Substitute

neuro-praxis

I am looking for a comforting side dish that resembles mashed potato but something less calorific. I am thinking cauliflower mash might be the way to go although I am not a big fan of cauliflower.

If you've got a delicious cauliflower mash recipe, bang it up here and I'll give it a try. If you can think of anything else that's good (sweet potato mash - what's that like?), post it up too. Preferably stuff you've made yourself as opposed to stuff directly off the net.

Thanks a lot!

Alun

Celeriac mash, although the flavour can be a bit overpowering, so I usually mix it with potato about 50/50. Parsnip also springs to mind, although I've never tried it, and what with it being quite sweet, it might actually be more fattening than potato.

For some dishes, polenta might be a possibility, although I've no idea about the calorific difference, since I have a cast-iron metabolism that means I can eat just about anything without putting on weight

bonkey

Yeah...polenta sprang to my mind too. Just don't lash loads of butter into it once its made!

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

catho_monster

carrot and parsnip mash...

neuro-praxis

I have some polenta in the cupboard, how do you make it bonkey? (I've used it thus far as an ingredient in pizza bases). And is it a low calorie option?

olaola

Sweet potato mash? I cannot abide polenta myself.

bonkey

neuro-praxis wrote:

I have some polenta in the cupboard, how do you make it bonkey?

I'll ask she-who-cooks-the polenta to give me a recipe this evening and will post it over the w/end.

And is it a low calorie option?

from here

Polenta is a low fat, high carbohydrate food with a serving of soft polenta (60g of maize flour) giving only 44 calories, 2g of fat and 44g of carbohydrate. The major downfall with polenta is the added ingredients – it is common to flavour polenta with butter, olive oil or parmesan cheese.

Adding just 20g of butter to this serving of polenta increases the calories to almost 370 and the fat content to over 18g, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil bumps those calories up to 320 with 13g of fat, while flavouring the polenta with 40g of parmesan cheese brings the calorie total up to over 400 with 15g of fat.

Minder

neuro-praxis wrote:

I have some polenta in the cupboard, how do you make it bonkey? (I've used it thus far as an ingredient in pizza bases). And is it a low calorie option?

Polenta doesn't taste of much - it is just a vehicle for additional flavours.

Make it plain by adding the dry grains to a pan of boiling salted water. The ratio is probably on the box, but I use three or four cups of water to one cup of polenta.

Stir the boiling water with a balloon whisk and pour in the polenta in a steady stream. It should cook to the consistency of thick porridge anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. Stir occassionally to avoid it sticking.

Once thick, it can be used as any other carbohydrate, mash potato, pasta etc. Or pour it into a lasagne dish and allow to go cold - it will set. Then cut into wedges and grill or fry until the edges are crispy.

But it comes into its own when additional flavours are added. Try adding
cheese - parmesan is good. Or cauliflower and blue cheese. Cut small florets of cauliflower and blanch in boiling water. Add to the polenta to cook for about 20 mins. Crumble in some blue cheese - gorgonzola is great. Serve.

For a low cal option, try adding mushrooms - reconstituted porcini mushrooms are great, they add a huge amount of flavour for a small amount of mushroom. Add the water they soaked in but strain out the grit.

I use polenta as an accompaniment to italian sausages in a red sauce - the Tesco pork & parmasen are a good alternative to salsiccia.

flikflak

Cauliflower mash with 100g of cooked millett all whizzed up smothered in tomato ketchup!!

MicraBoy

Cauliflower mash or sweet potato mash are good options. One trick is to add one small potato to the cauliflower mash to give it that normal mash feel.