National Press Club chef offers sweet potato recipe

Sweet potatoes don’t have to be excessively sweet or sentimental.

This ‘tis the season for all things root vegetables and sweet potatoes. Just coming off a Thanksgiving candied sweet potato sugar rush, below is a variation on a theme that takes some of the sweetness out of baked yams. This baked dish has a tiny bit of heat at the end of every bite.  

The hardest part -- the trick, as it were -- is to find a can of Chipotles in Adobo sauce. Well-stocked supermarkets may have the cans, but you may have to check out the International/Hispanic line of products. If not in your supermarket, you may have to locate a Latin American grocery store. Chipotles, just for your info, are smoked jalapenos. They are classically packaged in a spicy Adobo sauce in 7-ounce cans. Adobo sauce is made from chili powder, vinegar, sugar, garlic and herbs and was originally used to flavor and preserve meats in Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. You may wonder about buying a can for one recipe and thus taking up valuable refrigerator real estate with the remaining contents. No worry; the chipotles can be added to soups, stews, even vinaigrette. They are great in cooked beans. The peppers add some heat, but mildly so -- definitely not like ghost peppers. These are peppers for wimps, myself included.  

SW Sweet Potato Gratin

2 ½ to 3 pounds of Sweet Potatoes (about 3-4), peeled and thinly sliced on mandoline (about 1/8” thick), or chunked
2 T Chipotle in Adobo Sauce (about one plus some sauce)
4 T or 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 cups of Half-and-half or Heavy Cream
 

1.  Puree/Blend chipotles to produce smooth paste.

2.  Combine puree, half & half and sugar

3.  Layer Sweet Potatoes in shallow (2-inch side) 9 x 13, overlapping layers slices of sweet potato.

4.  Pour some of the cream mixture over each layer. Three or four layers is good.

5.  Do not oversoak potatoes. Cream should not cover sweet potatoes completely

6.  Cover with foil and bake 350 about 25 minutes.  

7.  Remove foil and bake another 20-30 minutes until top has crusted and potatoes are tender. Mixture should be bubbly.  

Cool somewhat before serving.

Variations:

1.  A mild cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack) can be added between layers and on top

2.  A sparse amount of thinly sliced sweet onions or green onions can be sprinkled between the layers of sweet potatoes.