September 20th 2007
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
In coming up with a meal plan that involved apples, ala Iron Chef, I made the most delicious sweet potatoes I’ve ever had. As with any of my recipes, spices are subject to taste and were never measured by me.
Ingredients:
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 Apple
butter
ginger root (4 inch long, finger width)
allspice
cinnamon
brown sugar
Instructions:
Peel and cut into chunks both the sweet potatoes and ginger. Place them into a pot of boiling water until the sweet potatoes are mushy. 20-30 minutes
Cut the apple into eighths, and melt some (1/4 tablespoon, perhaps) in a small non-stick pan. Add the apple to the pan. Halfway through, add an amount of cinnamon that looks right, perhaps 1/4 teaspoon. Continue cooking until the apples are mushy. Some extra butter may be needed if the apples are starting to burn. About 20 minutes cooking time.
Ladle out the sweet potatoes from the water to a food processor, making sure to remove the ginger. Add the apples to the food processor. Add in the allspice (1/4 teaspoon [perhaps]) brown sugar (3 tablespoons, maybe less, remember, cooked apples are awesome, and these are sweet potatoes) and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the water the potatoes and ginger were boiled in. Make the processor work its processor magic. The addition of additional butter to this isn’t needed, nor is it a bad idea, unless dieting is also on the menu.
This has a very autumn/harvest feel, and I could see adding some nutmeg in the spice package. For making larger batches, I’d suggest going with a 3-1 sweet potato/apple ratio. None of the flavors really linger and while it’s distinctive, it’s not excessively strong, so it makes a great side. Of course, it’s delicious enough to eat all by itself.
