This is such a gem of a recipe. If you're like me, you grew up loving jelly for it's sweet fruit taste but ambivalent towards jam, which had suspicious chunks of fruits and worse, seeds, lurking within. I eventually got over my aversion to chunks of fruit, but this jam has the bonus of a uniform texture, almost like a thick applesauce, that I really appreciate. This is delicious on anything. It's tangy, tart, and sweet, and oddly just like a sweet potato. If you're only going to make two recipes from this book, make this your second, along with the Sweet Potato Biscuits.
Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/4 pounds (2 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
Grate the sweet potatoes into long, thick shreds. (The grating disk of a food processor produces the best results, but the large holes of a box grater will work as well.)
In a medium bowl, combine the shredded potatoes and sugar and mix well with your hands.
Add the mixture to a medium large saucepan and set over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring and smashing frequently with the back of a wooden spoon, until the potatoes have mostly collapsed, about 30 minutes.
Add the lime juice, salt, and almond extract. Stir well. Transfer to a lidded container and store in the refrigerator. The jam will keep for at least 2 months.
I can't overstate how wonderful these are, fresh out of the oven or leftover the next day. They're so simple and so, so satisfying. These aren't just one of my favorites from this book, but from the series overall.
Look at them! The sweet potato makes the dough a pleasant soft orange, and when you get a larger chunk of warm sweet potato....it's heaven. If you only make one thing from this book, make it this.
Ingredients:
1 cup roasted sweet potato flesh
2/3 cup whole milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 stick) melted, plus 1 tbsp at room temperature
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp plus 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
Adjust the top oven rack so that it is at the second highest setting. Preheat the oven to 450˚. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and grease the foil or parchment with th e1 tbsp of softened butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sweet potato flesh, milk and melted butter until combined. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Sift the flour mixture into the bowl with the sweet potato mixture and stir to combine. Using a soup spoon, scoop 12 mounds of batter, each about 2 inches wide, onto the baking sheet.
Bake the biscuits, rotating the pan after 10 minutes, until the tops brown in some parts and the biscuits sound hollow when thumped with a finger, 15 to 20 minutes total. Let the biscuits cool for a few minutes, then use a knife to release them from the liner. Serve warm.
Cardamom & Coconut Milk Sweet Potato Pie - 5 Stars
Vegetarian (depending on fat selected for the crust)
This is a heavenly pie. Cooking through these books has made me very familiar with the process of baking a pie from scratch, and while this one is not the easiest to make, it is worth so much more than the effort it takes to make it.
The cardamom and coconut milk bring out the natural sweetness of the potato while giving it a creamy, light decadence and a touch of sophistication. This pie made people light up at work, and having tried it still warm from the oven and then again when chilled, it's fantastic both ways -- but best when cold, which is the mark of a good pie in my book.
The crust is also one of the less fussy and neat crust recipes I've made, possibly ever? It's buttery and flakey, and you can apply this crust easily to something savory as well as the crust itself is not sweet. According to Scott's notes on the subject, he got the dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated, and the fat needs to be extremely cold. I used lard for the first time and put it in the freezer about 30 minutes before beginning the crust, and the results were fantastic. Shortening works too.
I had to take this pie out and bring it over to a party (we were running late), so the picture below you can see the surface that the pie hasn't fully settled just yet. Didn't stop anyone from enjoying it.
Ingredients for the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4 tbsp cold lard or vegetable shortening
1/4 cup ice-cold water
Ingredients for the filling:
1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 1 extra large potato or 2 medium potatoes)
2 cloves
3 cardamom pods, smashed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup tightly packed light-brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk(shake the can well before opening and measuring)
Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter, using your hands to coat the pieces with the flour. [Actually, don't do this. This is a bad idea because if you do and you want to do it safely, you have to remove the blade and therefore flour will get into the space where the blade normally rests and it's annoying. Scott, not sure if you were thinking this one through, bud.] Pulse for five 1-second bursts. Add the lard (or shortening) and pulse about four more times, until there are no dough pieces larger than a pea. Don't overprocess. Turn the mixture out into a large bowl.
Add 2 tbsp of the ice-cold water to the dough. Using your hands, fold the water into the dough, pressing it into a ball. The dough is ready when it barely comes together; add another tbs of water if needed. Use your hands to shape the dough into a flat disk about 4 inches wide. Wrap the disk with plastic wrap and put it int he refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (You can leave it there for up to 2 days.)
Lightly flour a work surface. Unwrap the chilled dough and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a circle about 10 inches wide, dusting it with additional flour as necessary so that it does not stick to the work surface. Transfer the crust to an 8 or 0 inch pie tin.
Make the filling: Preheat the oven to 325˚. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1 1/2 to 2-inch pieces. Add the sweet potato pieces to a baking dish small enough to fit them rather snugly (an 8 by 8 dish will work well). Add 1 cup of water: the water level should be about 1/2 inch deep. If it isn't, add more water until the depth reaches about 1/2 inch. Add the cloves and the smashed cardamom pods. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake until the sweet potatoes offer absolutely no resistance when their centers are pierced with a knife, about 45 minutes.
Pass the sweet potatoes through a food mill, potato ricer or sieve into a large bowl. Let cool. Strain the cooking liquid (you should have between 1/4 and 1/2 cup).
Increase the oven temperature to 350˚. Add the beaten eggs to the sweet potato puree, mixing well. Add 1/4 cup of the spiced cooked liquid and mix well. IN a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and brown sugar until no clumps remain. Sift the flour and salt into the bowl of sugar and stir. Add the sugar-flour mixture to the sweet potatoes and stir well, until the sweet potatoes and sugar are uniformly combined. Stir in the coconut milk.
Add the filling to the pie tin. Trim the dough hanging over the edges of the pie and crimp the edges with a fork. Bake until a cake tester or knife placed in the center of the pie comes out clean and the top of the filling is cracked in places, about 1 hour. [Note: I did not have any cracks, but it was indeed cooked all the way through. Go by what your tester says, but if you want to bake longer than an hour, cover the crust with tinfoil.] If the edges of the crust start to darken before the filling is cooked, cover the rim of the crust with foil.
Let the pie cool before serving it by itself or with sweetened whip cream or ice cream.
This is a solid, no frills recipe that anyone can do. It's just another way to do that which is most commonly done with a potato: roasting it as a dependable side. You can modify the spices if you like (I skipped the chile and used chili flakes and paprika), but at the end of the day a wedge is a wedge is a wedge.
Still good, though.
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 2.5 pounds)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves [I always double to quadruple garlic]
Flaky salt
2 or more fresh red or dried chiles
1/4 cup fresh or dried bay leaves (about 10 large)
Preheat the oven to 400˚.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise; place one half on the cutting surface with the cut side facing down and cut into four wedges (for a total of eight wedges per potato). Repeat with all the potatoes.
In a large bowl, toss the potato wedges with the olive oil, garlic and 1 tsp of salt. Over the bowl, cut the chiles into very small, irregularly sized pieces with kitchen shears. (You could also chop the chiles with a sharp knife, then add them to the bowl, but if you're using dried chiles, the pieces will probably fly everywhere as you chop.) Toss the contents of the bowl again. Arrange the sweet potato wedges on a large baking sheet or in a shallow roasting pan, then use a spatula or your hands to scrape the seasoning onto the wedges. Rp or cut the by leaves into pieces and scatter them over the wedges.
Roast until the sweet potatoes are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
This is the MOST INCREDIBLE soup. If you love Thai food (or tom gati school of Thai soups, notable among them tom kha soup), you need to make this YESTERDAY. Bold, sweet, sour, spicy, unworldly delicious - I'm going to run out of words to describe it. Seriously, just make it. I'm making it now, in my mind, because this is a soup that you dream about eating when you're not eating it.
Ingredients:
2 small Thai or other hot chiles, stemmed (and seeded, if you want a more mild soup)
1 large shallot (about 4 oz), thinly sliced
1 garlic clove [go ahead and double this - this is always my standard practice]
3 cilantro roots, scraped with the edge of a knife to remove dirt (cilantro roots are available at some farmers' markets and Asian markets; if you can't find any, substitute 1/3 cup coarsely chopped thick cilantro stems)
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
One 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 medium sweet potato (about 10 oz) peeled and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces
Kosher salt
1 tsp tightly packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp plush 1 tsp fish sauce
3 to 4 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
In a mortar, pound the Thai chiles, shallot, garlic, and cilantro roots or sems together with a pestle until bruised (alternatively, pulse 3 to 4 times in a food processor).
In a large saucepan, bring the stock and coconut milk to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the chile-garlic mixture, sweet potato, and 3/4 tsp of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is extremely soft, about 15 minutes.
Using a handheld immersion blender (or regular blender), puree the soup until it's smooth. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids. Discard the solids and return the liquid to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice. Adjust the seasonings if needed; the flavor should be boldly sweet, salty and sour. Divide the soup among 4 bowls and garnish with the cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.
It's very, very easy to award the recipes in this book with 5 stars, and I'm wondering if it's simply because the sweet potato is simply the rock star of all tubers. Whatever the case is, these crunchy, crispy, zesty skins are just as addictive to eat as a basket of spiced and loaded fries from your local sports bar, but they feel healthier and lighter.
Save the skins from the Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes (just make sure you liberally rinse and scrub them before you bake them) and make these the next day. If you get more sweet potato flesh clinging to the skins than expected, that's fine -- it heats up in the oven and makes a great jammy bite.
Omit the cheese if you want a vegan / dairy free version, swap out herbs and spices as wanted, but never omit the lemon juice - it's the one component that is absolutely essential.
This is more a set of guidelines than a recipe, so modify to your taste and whims.
Preheat the oven to 300˚ and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle the parchment with good olive oil. Lay the hallowed sweet potato skins flat on the parchment, then drizzle them with some olive oil (cut the skins into smaller strips prior to drizzling them for thinner, crisper skins). Sprinkle lightly with course salt and, if you like, either red pepper flakes, paprika, pimenton or gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder). Sprinkle with grated cheese such as Parmesan or Gruére. Bake until the skins are crisp, 20 to 30 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice and a flurry of chopped herbs like parsley, dill, or cilantro. Eat.
Have you ever had a sweet potato jacket? Take a simple roasted sweet potato, cut it open, scoop in a liberal amount of sour cream, chives, seasonings and maybe a bit of cheese, then eat it straight out of the potato? If you haven't, you've got a new mission. Come back later.
Alright - so are you ready for the fancier upgraded version of this? Good news. It requires a few extra steps (and a lot of extra trouble if you want to bake them for the second time in their skins), but it's worth it, especially if you save the skins for later and bake them for the second time in a ramekin, like I do. (Note, if you DO want to serve them baked make sure you transfer the potatoes from a tin foil sheet to a fresh pan with parchment paper BEFORE you cut them open and scoop out the flesh, or otherwise the empty skins will stick to the foil and you won't be able to remove them without tearing them when it's time to place them on a plate and all you'll have is a tasty mess.)
This incredible side dish can be made into an appetizer if you find something crunchy and fun to make it into a dip, or maybe served with crusty buttery bread. It's everything you love about a sweet potato jacket minus the sour cream (and yet, you can still taste it).
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 garlic clove [double this]
Kosher salt
1/2 cup tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup thinly sliced chives
Roast the sweet potatoes until you can easily slice a pairing knife through the largest part of the potato. (Note: most of these recipes call for potatoes to be roasted at 425˚, so keep the oven on after the potatoes are roasted to finish them.)
While the potatoes roast, chop and mash the garlic with 1/4 tsp of salt until it forms a paste. In a medium bowl, combine the mashed garlic and tahini and stir until well mixed. Stir in the lemon juice. The tahini will seize up and become harder to stir. Add about 1/4 cup of water, a little at a time, stirring until incorporated.
When the potatoes are soft after roasting, remove them from the oven and let cool a bit. Move the uppermost rack to the highest setting.
Cut the potatoes open lengthwise, and gently hollow out the potatoes to create "boats," reserving the flesh in a separate bowl and being mindful to keep the skins intact.
Add the tahini to the sweet potato flesh and mix well. Stir in the yoghurt, milk, and butter until the butter as completely melted. Stir in the chives. Divide the filling among the sweet potato skins. Return the filled potatoes to the baking sheet and place in the oven on the highest rack. Bake until the tops begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
