Jamie Oliver's Mashed Root Vegetables

From Jamie Oliver's cookbook The Return of the Naked Chef. I would like to personally thank Recipezaar member French Tart for posting this recipe for me by request in the Celebrity Chefs' forum. She has kindly given me permission and her blessing to post it on the site. Thank you and mercy buckets, French Tart!

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 1⁄2 lbs  root vegetables (celeriac, potatoes, *swede, parsnips, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes)
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•  extra virgin olive oil or  butter

Directions

1. *NOTE: swedes are known in US as rutabagas. I've also used yams/sweet potatoes, turnips and fingerlings in this recipe. ~fyi~.
2. Feel free to use any single vegetable or a mixture of your favorites. Cookgirl says that a mixture of root vegetables is the way to go!
3. Peel the root vegetables then chop up into golf-ball sized pieces, place in salted boiling water and cook until very tender.
4. Drain in a colander.
5. Place the vegetables back in the pan and mash with a potato masher.
6. You can mash them as smooth or as chunky as you like. Season with salt and pepper, then enrich the flavor with extra virgin oil or butter, or both, to taste. (I prefer using both olive oil and butter.).
7. Jamie continues to say: once cooked, the mashed vegetables can be kept warm in a bowl covered with kitchen foil over simmering water. This is handy when cooking for a dinner party -- (especially when timing is of utmost importance.).