The winner is in! Sweet potato
casserole is a favorite side for “cooked dinner” more commonly known as turkey
dinner. Please don’t forget to cook your
potatoes and other veggies for Thanksgiving too! I never grew up on this dish, but have recently added it to
my Thanksgiving and Christmas repertoire simply because it is so delicious.
The first time I made it, I didn’t add pecans and regretted it. The pictures I have posted are without
pecans – so this year I am definitely adding them! I will add those pics once I have made the dish this weekend!
Also, remember this is a
sweet dish so don’t add too much sugar because it can be ruined if you’re not
taking in to account the natural sweetness of the potatoes. Taste along the way to make sure it’s
to your liking. Adapted from “America’s Test
Kitchen 2007”.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
7 pounds (6-8 medium sized
sweet potatoes, of equal size)
Streusel:
5 TBSP unsalted butter, cut
into 5 pieces and softened, plus more for the pan
½ cup unbleached all-purpose
flour
 |
Imagine with crunchy pecans!
This year's photos will be posted after Sunday! |
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup pecans
Filling:
5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp pepper
1 TBSP vanilla extract
4 tsps fresh lemon juice
4 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups half-and-half cream
Directions:
1. Sweet Potatoes:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven
to 400 degrees. Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork and space
evenly across the rack. Bake the
potatoes, turning them once, until they are very tender and be squeezed easily
with tongs – 1-1 ½ hours.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut in half lengthwise
to let the steam escape; cool at least 10 minutes. Scoop out flesh into bowl – there should be 8 cups. Reduce the oven temperature to
375.
** This step can be done 2 days ahead. Simply scrape the flesh from the skins
and refrigerate in an airtight container**
2. For the
Streusel:
While the potatoes are baking, butter a 13 x 9-inch baking
dish. Mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl, until well blended. Sprinkle the butter pieces over the
flour mixture and pulse until a crumbly mass forms. Use a slap-chop like device
(or simply cut) the nuts coarsely.
Sprinkle the nuts over the mixture and pulse until combined but some
large nut pieces remain.
3. For the Filling:
Add the melted butter, salt,
nutmeg, pepper, vanilla, and lemon juice to the potatoes and mix until
smooth. Taste for sweetness – it’s
going to be pretty sweet so I wouldn’t add any sugar. However if you think it
needs some add up to 4 TBSP of granulated sugar if necessary (be careful you
don’t make it too sweet! Remember the streusel topping is quite sweet enough!
); add yolks. With the mixer
running add the half-and-half cream until blended and transfer to the bowl with
the potato pieces and stir gently to combine.
4. To Assemble & Bake:
Pour the filling into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even
layer with a spatula. Sprinkle
with the streusel, breaking up any large pieces with your fingers. Bake until the topping is well browened
and the filling is slightly puffy around the edges, 40-45 minutes.
