I have received so many hits for this I thought I would address it with a few handy tips for cooking this under-rated vegetable [besides utilising it in my cottage pie recipe of course]

Preparing Swede

Always handy to have a potato peeler to hand for this. Peel it the same way as a potato, slicing off the root end first with a knife. Then just cut the swede into suitably sized chunks.

Mashed Swede

Cut it into 1 inch dice and steam for about 10 minutes, or until tender, then whiz to a puree in a food processor, or mash with a fork, adding a knob of butter, salt and lots of freshly milled black pepper.

Roast Swede

Cut the chunks larger 2 inch pieces, place the cubes in a bowl, adding a drizzle of olive oil and salt & pepper. Toss the swede around to get all the pieces coated in the oil. Pace them on a baking tray and roast in a pre-heated oven 220°C for about 35 minutes. The swede should by tinged with light golden brown at the edges.

Hope this helps! I´ve always had a passion for swede since it was a vegetable my Grandfather would grow in abundance. Its vastly under-rated purely and simply because people often fear it – believing it bitter or difficult to prepare. Neither is the case if done properly. Do you have any swede recipes to share? If so, I would love to hear them.