Recipes

Ingredient of the Month
January: Sweet Potato

Discover a delicious alternative to your ordinary potato dishes with the sweet, fiery orange sweet potato. 

Buying: Select small to medium sized sweet potatoes with smooth, unblemished.  The skin should be dark orange to reddish in color with a bright orange, sweet, moist flesh inside. 

Storing:  Sweet potatoes can be stored in a dry, dark, cool place for up to 2 weeks.   Ideally, use then within one week of purchase and avoid refrigeration.

Preparing:  Always clean sweet potatoes before use.  For most recipes, I prefer to bake sweet potatoes rather than boil them because baking concentrates the flavor of the potato and extracts more moisture.

OTHER USES

Sweet potatoes can be used as in interesting substitute for some simple white potato recipes.  If you’re in a kitschy mood, try serving the recipe below in a casserole with little marshmallows on top.  This recipe is also a good accompaniment with pork.

 


 VANILLA SWEET POTATO PUREE
Serves 4

 Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, cleaned and left a bit damp
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/3 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
kosher salt
white pepper in a mill

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until tender to a fork tip, about 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let cool until warm enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes.  Peel and discard the skin.  Put the potatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Meanwhile, pour the cream into a 2-quart pot, ad the vanilla bean and orange zest, if using, and set it over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Use tongs to fish out and discard the vanilla bean.  Pour the mixture over the potatoes in the processor and add the butter.

Puree the potato mixture until smooth.  Season with salt and 4 grinds of pepper, or to taste.  Keep covered and warm until ready to serve.