Mashed swede with butter and sage

Main course: Serves 4

These swedes nearly didn't make it here. In fact, they were a borderline case for the traditional line-up. But when it came to my day with Jason and the Box Brownie, I cooked them anyway; a panful of mashed Swede, whether photographed or not, isn't exactly difficult to make - nor will it break the bank if not entirely consumed. And then, at the very last minute (between endless faffing about with camera angles, the right shading, tripod fatigue, much sarcasm etc etc), I found myself gazing upon my little window box and the last remnants of a fast-diminishing sage plant within it. A revelatory combination, if I might be so bold as to admit.

1 large swede, peeled and chopped into chunks
75g butter
plenty of freshly ground white pepper
For the butter with sage
75g butter the leaves taken from a small bunch of sage
salt

Boil the swede in salted water until very tender. Drain well in a colander for at least five minutes. Now pass it through the coarsest blade of a vegetable mill (mouli-legumes) or by using various other manual methods; please, do not electrically work swede into the consistency of baby-food, as it seems to lose all credibility when treated so luxuriously. Beat in the butter and pepper and spoon into a heated vegetable dish.

To complete the dish, melt the final amount of butter and, once it has begun to froth, throw in the sage leaves and allow to crisp in the fat until they have darkened slightly and are giving off every last vestige of their scent. Spoon over the mashed swede and serve up promptly.