Mashed Turnips (or Rutabaga)

In Ireland, when we make mashed turnips, it’s nearly always mashed rutabaga. Actual turnips are the little, watery-fleshed, sweet, white and pink root vegetables we roast or boil and eat in spring. But the meatier, starchier veg we call “turnip” is the big, starchy, yellow-fleshed vegetable Americans mostly think of as rutabagas. They usually come thickly waxed, and there’s a band of dark purple around the stem end. They are tough to peel with a vegetable peeler. It’s easier to cut the stem