The other day, I was standing around, and the Monster Mash came on. I just so happened to be hungry, so my mind went to food, and the idea for this was born. In true Frankenstein fashion, I wanted to combine a few different mashes together into one cohesive dish. The dish was supposed to look scarier than it is cute…but I’m not a gifted artist (to put it mildly), so that didn’t happen. Despite a lack of artistic talent, every now and then, I get the urge to try, so this one can be added to the Hall of Delicious Goofiness that is our “Food Art Recipes” tag.
We served our monster heads with sautéed pierogis (along with sweet onion and a sliced portobello).
**We used peas for green colour and purple potatoes for the hair…but don’t be constrained to our mash choices! Have fun….we think things like lentils would be great too for different colors and to add some protein.
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Portobello Caps
- For your Mashes:
- Purple Potatoes
- Milk
- Butter
- Sweet Peas
- Garlic
- Sage
- For your Facial Features:
- Roasted Red Pepper Slices
- Black Olive
- Thin Onion Slice
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with some foil, and give the foil a quick oil spray.
- Start your Monster Mashes:
- Cube your purple potatoes, and put them in a pot. Cover with water, and boil until soft.
- As your potatoes boil, pour your peas into another pot, and cover with water. Bring them to a simmer as well.
- Peel and slice your garlic, and slice your sage leaves into ribbons. Then, sauté in butter for a few minutes, and set aside.
- As your potatoes/peas boil, remove the stems from your portobello caps, and scoop out the gills with a spoon. Then, place the caps with the stuffable side facing up on your baking sheet.
- Back to the mashes:
- When your potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork, drain the water, and add into the bowl of your food processor.
- Pour in a little milk, and add some butter. Then puree.
- Scoop into a bowl, and set aside.
- Wash your food processor (or use a different one if you have two)
- Drain your peas, and pour them into the bowl of your clean food processor.
- Add in your sautéed garlic and sage (with any extra butter that is still in the pan).
- Pulse to puree. Then, scoop into a bowl.
- Time to assemble your monsters:
- Scoop your peas into your mushroom caps, and spread evenly over more than half of the total area.
- Fill the top (area without peas) with your purple potatoes mash.
- Roll your roasted red peppers into eyes.
- Add your black olive nose
- Slice a sweet onion thinly, and use one of the rings for a mouth.
- Transfer your monsters to the oven, and bake for 20-30 minutes. *Note, there is a lot of liquid in the dish, so your monsters may come out of the oven looking a little deformed compared to when you put them in…I was horrified by this event. However, using a big spatula to remove them from the baking sheet and put them onto plates, we were able to keep everything together and looking like we intended.
- Plate, devour, don’t get too scared, and enjoy!
