In Season: Sweet Potatoes
No other vegetable that says "fall" quite like the sweet potato. We all have our favorite recipes, and love debating which aunt's sweet potato casserole is the best. I still follow my Aunt Margaret's recipe, though with the addition and omission of several ingredients. Every time time I make the sugary, marshmallow topped casserole, my dad always says, "It tastes just like Margaret's"—bringing me instant culinary satisfaction. There is something nostalgic about the sweet potato that makes it taste that much better.
Some seasonal sweet potato recipes, after the jump.
This perennial root vegetable was first domesticated 5000 years ago in the tropical regions of South America. The sweet potato is characterized by yellow or orange flesh, coated by a thin skin that can be white, yellow, orange, red, or purple. Sweet potatoes grow best in abundant sunlight and warm temperatures, and are generally available year around with the peak season falling from late October through December. Not only delicious, one sweet potato packs twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, with loads of vitamin C, calcium, fiber, and only 141 nutritious calories.
When choosing sweet potatoes at the market, look for intact skin without cracks, soft spots, or blemishes. You can store your sweet potatoes in a cool, dry place for up to four weeks. Once cooked, keep them in the fridge for five to seven days or in the freezer for six to nine months.
We've rounded up our favorite sweet potato recipes below to help you take full advantage of peak sweet potato season.
Recipes
- Sweet Potato Pancakes
- Sweet Potato Casserole Trifle
- Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Scallion Butter
- Curried Sweet Potato Soup with Apricots
- Hot Mushroom Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Potato, Eggplant, and Spinach Madras Curry
- Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes in Spicy Tomato Sauce with Cashews
- Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
- Sweet Potato Cake with Pecan Streusel
- Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Salad
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11 Comments:
Never understood the appeal of the marshmallow addition. Give me the savory preparations anyday.
chanterelle at 11:34AM on 11/07/09
made some buckwheat sweet potato cake w/ orange glaze a few days ago.
http://glutenfreemommy.com/buckwheat-sweet-potato-quick-bread/
i just subbed in regular flour and a T of cornstarch for the gluten-free flours and xanthan gum.
Christina at 12:23PM on 11/07/09
I love just simply roasting diced up sweet potatoes with olive oil, lots of salt and pepper, sometimes chili powder or curry powder.
parvax at 12:52PM on 11/07/09
I am crazy about sweet potatoes, and it's kismet that I should read this post on SE right now, directly after having devoured a sweet po with butter, cinnamon, cayenne, brown sugar and sea salt -- and blogging about it! (http://thenervouscook.com)
NervousCook at 1:05PM on 11/07/09
Thanks for the list! I'll have to try some of these recipes. My favorite is simply baked with a pat (or three) of butter. Yum.
yayfood at 2:45PM on 11/07/09
Call me crazy, but I like them plain--no butter--with lots of salt.
HeartofGlass at 6:57PM on 11/07/09
Baked sweet potatoes with a little butter. Perfection.
CJ McD at 8:37PM on 11/07/09
my fiance is obsessed with sweet potatoes right now. we're having them almost every day. I've been trying some more adventurous things, like sweet potato gnocchi, but mostly i just toss with a touch of olive oil and what ever spices match the rest of the meal. I never use butter. I think they are plenty creamy without it.
MsHumpal at 9:12PM on 11/08/09
I love sweet potatoes by themselves! Roasted in the oven, they make their own sweet glaze, hence why they're called sweet potatoes. Yum.
Chew on That at 12:42AM on 11/09/09
I've OD'd on sweet potatoes this year... the CSA I get had a lot of them the last couple of months. It did cause me to try a lot of new recipes. Sweet potato pie, sweet potato gnocchi, sweet potato latkes were some of the highlights.
chc82 at 10:27AM on 11/09/09
At my cafe, one of our most popular sides are our sweet potato hash browns which we serve year round. I have never been a fan of sweet potato fries but I do dig the hash browns. Simple to make, too. Shred a sweet potato using a food processor or box grater. Toss the hash with some corn starch to coat them and simply cook on a medium high griddle with a little canola oil. When they are brown and crisp flip for about a minute more. We season ours with a mix that is 5% cayenne pepper and 95% cinnamon.
WannabeTVchef at 6:10PM on 11/16/09