You can even employ this trusty spud as an hors d’oeuvre
By: Pat Tanner
Sweet potatoes, those staples of the Thanksgiving table, have taken on the added luster of being a superfood because of their amazing nutritional wallop. I love them in every form except their most common November incarnation: canned, cloyingly sweet, and degraded by marshmallows.
The recipes below offer options for incorporating these dietary powerhouses in the form of soup, side or dessert. Only the last is sweet, appropriately. You can even employ this trusty spud as an hors d’oeuvre. Devon Delaney of Princeton, a veteran winner of national recipe contests, recently took in a cool $500 for her recipe for Sweet Potato Bistro Bruschetta in a contest sponsored by the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission and "Louisiana Cookin’" magazine. The recipe can be found at www.sweetpotato.org. (Click "recipes," then "2006 contest winners," then "sides.")
Angelica Kitchen consistently wins top awards as best vegetarian/vegan restaurant in New York City, where it has thrived on 12th Street for the last quarter century. Their soup recipe, below, is not only delicious, it’s vegan to boot. Garnish with snipped chives, croutons or parsley.
For many years that Southern specialty, spoonbread, graced my Thanksgiving table. This year I’m bringing it back with the sweet potato twist, below.
Finally, in her book of recipes from her hometown of Hemingway, S.C., Sylvia Woods, the soul food queen of Harlem, writes that she doesn’t know where the word "poon" comes from, but describes the recipe below quite accurately as a cross between a baked pudding and a cake. It has all the flavors of gingerbread and is best served warm, with vanilla ice cream.
CREAMY CARROT
AND SWEET POTATO SOUP
"The Angelica Home Kitchen"
by Leslie McEachern
(Ten Speed Press 2003)
2 cups diced onions
3 cups diced carrots
2 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, and coriander seeds, ground to a fine powder
2 teaspoons salt, plus additional for seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
6 cups water
- Combine the vegetables, oil, and seasonings in a heavy-bottomed 3- to 4-quart
saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes. - Lower the flame, cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The vegetables should cook gently; do not let them brown. - Add 6 cups of water and raise the heat to bring to a boil. Lower the heat
and simmer the soup until the vegetables are soft, approximately 20 minutes. - Puree the soup and add additional water to thin it if desired. In place
of water you can thin the soup with apple cider, which yields a sweeter taste.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serves 6.
NORTH CAROLINA
SWEET POTATO SPOONBREAD
Ben Barker, chef-proprietor,
Magnolia Grill, Durham, N.C.
1 large sweet potato
2½ cups milk
2 cups half & half
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup cornmeal (preferably stone ground)
½ cup flour
8 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
6 eggs, separated
¼ cup cream
- Bake sweet potato in center of 325 degree oven until tender, about 1 hour.
Peel and puree until smooth. Set aside. - Butter a 12-cup shallow casserole. Heat milk, half & half, salt and
sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. When small bubbles appear around
the edge, slowly whisk in cornmeal and flour, stirring constantly. Continue
to stir as mixture cooks and thickens. When smooth and creamy, remove from
heat and stir in butter until completely melted and combined. - In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and cream together until lightened in color.
Gradually add to cornmeal mixture. Add ¾ cup sweet potato puree. Add
salt to taste, if desired. Recipe can be made ahead to this point. - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites and fold into cornmeal mixture.
Spread into prepared dish. Bake until golden brown and just set, 30 to 35
minutes.
Makes 12 to 14 servings.
MAMA’S SWEET POTATO POON
"Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook"
by Silvia Woods & Family
(William Morrow 1999)
1½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 large egg
8 cups coarsely shredded sweet potatoes
½ cup molasses
½ cup self-rising flour
¼ cup milk
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup dark or golden raisins
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter. Beat in the egg.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Pour the mixture into
the prepared dish and bake for 1½ hours or until browned.

