Raise your hand if, like me, you’ve been in a sweet potato rut. You default to what’s easiest: peel them, cut them into bite-size cubes and roast them, or bake them like an Idaho potato.
Given that this is the time of year when the orange-fleshed tuber is at its height, we should try harder, do more. Right now, sweet potatoes are fresh, they’re inexpensive, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be buying one or two every time you go to the store ― I yam.
To find out what else we could make with them, I called some Dallas restaurant owners and chefs, who agreed that we’re not doing nearly enough. Turns out, sweet potatoes are far more diverse than their far more starchy white cousins. They can be the star of a bread pudding recipe or made into a mousse. They can be put into grain bowls, as an add-on or the main attraction, or used in lieu of an Idaho for a gnocchi (all recipes are below).
“I definitely think they’re under-utilized,” says Jon Alexis, owner of Malibu Poke and TJ’s Seafood. “I think people think of them at Thanksgiving and nothing else. But they’re so versatile. You can pair them with lots of different flavors. They don’t have to be down the middle of the fairway flavors.”
Nor do they need to be too enhanced with other ingredients. “People think that they need massive amounts of butter, but no, they have great flavor on their own,” says Suki Otsuki, chef at Meddlesome Moth. “I like them with just a little bit of butter and some nutritional yeast.”
Otsuki likes to swap out sweet potatoes for white potatoes in her shepherd’s pie, diced up and tossed into a quinoa stir-fry, or served as part of a roasted root vegetable hash with parsnips and butternut squash.
Miriam Jimenez, partner of Miriam Cocina Latina, prefers purple sweet potatoes with white flesh, like the ones she grew up eating in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, over the mostly orange varieties found here. “They’re my favorite,” she says. “The flavor is more intense.”
Chef Wade Burch at Perle on Maple grew up in South Texas eating sweet potatoes in the fall. “I ate them from the minute they were available,” he says. “Just cooked slices with butter, or instead of a mashed potato, we’d have sweet potatoes, baked dry on a cookie sheet with aluminum nails so they’d cook from the inside out ― they’d have crispy outsides and super-soft insides. My mom would fluff them up with a fork and put a little bit of butter on them.”
Now he does as much with them as he can when they’re in season, from making a hash to dicing them very small and using them in a “risotto.” “I always have a sweet potato soup on the menu, too,” he says. When he was a contestant on the television show, Chopped, whatever he made, he used sweet potato in the recipe. “I got yelled at because I used sweet potato so much.”
Too much sweet potato? Please. That would be like too much avocado.
Malibu Poke’s Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Bowl
“I love the combination of two different herbs, the sweet potatoes, and the smoky flavors. It’s very fall, and doing something with sweet potatoes made sense. I love using seasonal ingredients and seasonal flavors." ― Jon Alexis, owner of Malibu Poke
1 small sweet potato
1 cup any cooked rice or grain (white rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, etc.)
4 tablespoons Coconut Curry Sauce (recipe follows)
1 carrot, julienned
3 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 pinch any fresh microgreens
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon crushed smoked almonds
Peel and dice 1 small sweet potato. In nonstick skillet over medium heat, add sweet potatoes and your preferred cooking oil, and stir every 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and mix with Coconut Curry Sauce.
Fill a bowl with your choice of a base of cooked rice or grain. Place sweet potatoes on top of grains. Top the bowl with the carrots, basil, greens, sesame seeds and almonds. Serve warm.
Coconut Curry Sauce: Combine 1 can unsweetened coconut milk, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon of your favorite curry powder, 1 tablespoon agave nectar and salt to taste. Whisk until smooth.
Makes 1 bowl.
Miriam Cocina Latina’s Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Bourbon Créme Anglaise
“In the Dominican Republic, we use a lot of sweet potato, and it’s normal to make a bread pudding with it. This is something we’d normally make for a special occasion. It’s a holiday dish.” – Miriam Jimenez, partner of Miriam Cocina Latina
1 (2.5-pound) loaf of brioche (a 5x9-inch loaf)
7 tablespoons melted butter
4 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 (14-ounce) can sweet potato or 2 fresh mashed sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 tablespoon Bailey’s
1 tablespoon instant espresso
Maple Pecan Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
Bourbon Crème Anglaise (recipe follows)
Heat oven to 325 F.
Cut bread into 1-inch thick pieces.
Toss the brioche and melted butter in a mixing bowl to coat. Pour into a 9x13-inch pan (also could be made in individual 1 3/4-inch muffin cups). Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
In another mixing bowl, mix eggs, egg whites, sugar, salt, cream, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, pumpkin spice, rum, Bailey’s and instant espresso.
Pour liquid mixture over toasted brioche. Place a heavy object on top of mixture to condense the bread pudding for 20 minutes (cast iron pan, canned vegetables or otherwise).
Increase the oven temperature to 350 F.
Cover the bread pudding with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Cover with Maple Pecan Caramel Sauce and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Cut the sweet potato bread pudding into 3-inch-square servings and serve topped with Bourbon Crème Anglaise.
Maple Pecan Caramel Sauce: In a 2-quart pot, add 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup maple syrup and 1/2 cup pecans. Bring all of the ingredients to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Bourbon Crème Anglaise: In a saucepan, bring 4 cups heavy cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix 7 egg yolks and 1 tablespoon bourbon in a bowl. Add the hot cream slowly to the eggs and bourbon and mix well. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened. Pour the crème anglaise through a strainer and set aside to cool.
Makes 10 servings.
Perle On Maple’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi
“I wanted to do a dish that everyone could relate to, that’s seasonal, not your typical pasta dish but similar to one.” ― Chef Wade Burch
2 (1-pound) red-skinned sweet potatoes, rinsed, patted dry, pierced with a fork
1 (12-ounce) container fresh ricotta cheese, drained in sieve for 2 hours
1 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons salt (divided use)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 3/4 cups flour
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, plus whole leaves for garnish
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on High until tender, about 5 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into medium bowl and mash.
Transfer 3 cups of sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Pecorino cheese, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt and nutmeg. Mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and divide into 6 equal pieces. Rolling between palms on floured work surface, form each piece into a 20-inch-long rope (about 1-inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces, 1-inch apiece. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bring large pot of water to boil; add 2 tablespoons salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to a clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
In a heavy skillet, brown the pancetta over medium heat until browned. Drain on paper towel.
Heat oven to 300 F.
In a separate heavy large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.
Transfer half of sage butter to large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add half of gnocchi. Sauté until gnocchi are heated through, about 6 minutes. Empty skillet onto rimmed baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining sage butter and gnocchi.
Divide gnocchi and sauce among shallow bowls. Garnish with sage leaves, pancetta, pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of more Pecorino cheese.
Makes 6 servings.
Meddlesome Moth’s Sweet Potato Mousse
“Sweet potatoes are so dense, but folding the whipped cream into them you get that smooth lightness. This recipe is a crowd-pleaser. We bring it back as a special every fall.” – Chef Suki Otsuki
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, for roasting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
5 large eggs
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
6 sheets gelatin
12 ounces heavy cream
Cool Whip, for serving
Toasted and chopped pecans, for serving
Heat oven to 350 F. Toss sweet potatoes with oil, salt and spices. Lay out on a baking sheet and roast until tender. Purée in food processor or mixer.
Over a bain marie, whip the eggs with brown sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until glossy and the sugar dissolves.
Bloom the gelatin: Place gelatin sheets in ice water until soft and gel-like, then remove from water. Stir bloomed gelatin into sugar mixture.
Pour heavy cream into a mixing bowl and whip to medium-stiff peaks.
In a large bowl, gently fold egg mixture into sweet potato purée in a few stages, adding a little at a time. Then fold in whipped heavy cream in 3 to 4 stages so it remains light and fluffy.
Portion into individual dishes and let cool. Serve with Cool Whip and pecans.
Makes 8-10 servings.