Sweet potatoes belong on the plate (in the soup bowl and bread basket, too)
These vegetables belong on the plate — and in the soup bowl and bread basket
Versatile.
Nutritious.
Sweet!
The versatile sweet potato can show up from soup to nuts — or at least in a nutty dessert — during your Thanksgiving meal.
For the soup, elegant Sweet Potato Chowder is one of ‘scape restaurant chef Eric Kelly’s signature dishes. Instead of traditional biscuits, try Sweet Potato Biscuits. A Sweet Potato Puff is a fluffy, showy side dish, and Southern Sweet Potato Pecan Bread-Pudding Pie is a decadent dessert.
Although the sweet potato is used in many similar ways to “regular” potatoes, it isn’t a potato at all — it belongs to a different botanical family. And although it’s often called a yam, especially in the South, true yams are botanically distinct.
Microwaving is an easy shortcut if you want to shorten the cooking time for whole sweet potatoes, but we’ve found that baking them results in better caramelization and sweetness. In either case, cook until a syrupy liquid starts to ooze from under the skin.
And don’t limit your use of sweet potatoes to the holiday season. All year round, they’re remarkably nutritious, high in vitamin C and extremely high in vitamin A. They’re also antioxidant-rich, a good source of fiber and have anti-inflammatory and blood-sugar-regulating properties.
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Sweet Potato Biscuits
Yields about 16 biscuits
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1⁄3 cup low-fat or whole milk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake or microwave the potatoes until soft and tender, about 45 minutes in the oven or about 10 minutes in the microwave.
When potatoes are cool enough to touch, peel, then mash until smooth with an old-fashioned potato masher or in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Measure out 1 cup (reserve the rest for another use).
In the same bowl of the food processor or in the bowl where you mashed the potatoes, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter. Pulsing the processor or using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Combine sweet potato and milk in a small bowl; whisk until smooth. Add to the flour mixture, mixing until just moist.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly four or five times. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough ¾ inch thick. Cut out 10 biscuits with a 1-inch biscuit cutter, pressing the cutter down without twisting so the biscuits will rise evenly when baked.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps by placing the pieces on top of each other. Roll out ¾ inch thick and cut 5 or 6 more biscuits. Place on the baking sheet. Discard any remaining dough scraps.
Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Sweet Potato Puff
Yield: 6 servings
1 1⁄2 pounds sweet potatoes, baked or microwaved until soft
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 large eggs, separated
1⁄3 cup heavy cream
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-quart gratin dish or smaller souffle dishes.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and mash them coarsely with a fork in a mixing bowl. Add thyme, vinegar, egg yolks, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Beat until well combined.
3. In another bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the sweet potato mixture gently but thoroughly; spoon into the baking dish or dishes. Bake about 30 minutes (22 to 25 minutes for smaller dishes), until puffed but set and golden in spots.
4. For the best presentation, serve immediately; puff will deflate slightly as it cools.
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Sweet Potato Chowder
Yields 8 servings
4 cups chicken stock
3 slices bacon, preferably applewood-smoked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced green bell pepper
½ cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
5 cups half-and-half
2 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes
½ cup sliced green onions
1½ cups roasted corn kernels
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Creme franche, for garnish
Bring stock to a boil over high heat; boil until reduced to about 1 cup. Set aside.
While stock is reducing, cook bacon in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until deep brown. Remove the bacon from the pot and let cool. Chop into ½-inch pieces and set aside.
Add butter to the bacon fat. When butter melts, add onion, green pepper and celery; cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic; cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
Dust the cooked vegetables with flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in half-and-half and reduced chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add sweet potatoes and simmer until tender.
Pour half of the soup into a stainless-steel bowl. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the bowl, then puree the soup remaining in the pot. (Alternatively, puree half at a time in a blender.) Return all the soup to the pot.
Add green onions and corn; let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls, garnish with creme franche and top with the chopped bacon.
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Southern Sweet Potato
Pecan Bread-Pudding Pie
Yields 8 servings
For the crust
8 ounces challah, brioche or other similar fluffy, thick bread, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the filling
12 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into
½-inch pieces
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup pecans, chopped
For the topping
½ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons turbinado or dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Make the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange bread slices directly on the oven rack and toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer slices to a plate. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Microwave butter in a shallow dish until melted, about 2 minutes. Combine 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon and ½ teaspoon nutmeg in a second dish. Coat one side of toast with melted butter, then dredge the buttered side in the sugar mixture.
Arrange toast, sugared side down, in the bottom of the pie plate. The top crusts should point up to create a decorative edge. Trim and gently pack the slices so that no open spaces remain.
Make the filling: Combine potatoes and ¼ cup water in a microwavable bowl. Cover and microwave on high, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to a food processor. Add 2/3 cup granulated sugar, eggs, cream cheese and salt. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Transfer sweet potato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in milk, ½ cup cream, bourbon and vanilla. Pour mixture into bread-lined pie plate, smooth the top and sprinkle with pecans.
Bake until center is set and pie is golden brown on top, 60 to 70 minutes. Let pie cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.
Make the topping: Whip ½ cup cream with turbinado sugar and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg in a large bowl with an electric mixture on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Increase mixer speed to high and beat until cream forms soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve pie slightly warm or at room temperature with topping.
