Cardamom-Scented Whipped Sweet Potatoes

One day I read an article about Edna Lewis, a woman considered to be the "Grande Dame" of Southern cooking.  To see how she has inspired cooks and brought national attention to the joys of this food genre, click here to read an article by the Smithsonian magazine.  She was impressive, talented, classy, and gracious.  I wanted to know more about her cooking.  To that end, I was given all four of her cookbooks, which I have read in the order of publication.  

There are so many recipes I want to try.  I was fixing a dinner for a guest taster and decided that sweet potatoes would be a good choice to go with the meal.  I turned to The Gift of Southern Cooking, the last of her series, that was written with her dear friend, Scott Peacock.

ISBN 0-375-40035-4

On page 163 is the recipe for Cardamom-Scented Whipped Sweet Potatoes.  Now keep in mind that I love sweet potatoes and I love cardamom, so putting the two together just made the recipe even more tempting.

Cardamom-Scented Whipped Sweet Potatoes

6 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 - 1 cup heavy cream, heated

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

salt to taste

Let the butter come to room temperature while the potatoes are cooking.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Put the sweet potatoes on a foil-, parchment-, or Silpat-lined baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours, until very soft and tender.  Remove from the oven and cool slightly.  Peel the warm potatoes, and put them in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat the potatoes until mashed, and add the butter, 1/3 cup of the heavy cream, cardamom, nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Whip until smooth and creamy - you may have to add considerably more cream.  Taste carefully for seasoning, and add more salt if needed.  Serve hot.

My Notes

Medium-sized sweet potatoes were not an option at my local store, so I used two large that weighed about 2 1/2 pounds total.  I did not line my baking sheet.  The outcome was sticky goo that leaked out of the sweet potatoes while cooking.

No worries about the puddles of goo you see here.

However, this is not a problem for me.  I've baked sweet potatoes so many times that I know I just need to soak the pan in water, and the goo will dissolve.  

They were still very hot when I peeled them.  I use a fork and a small knife to do this:  the fork acts like my fingers to help pull the peel away from the hot insides.  The knife breaks the skin and cuts the interior up into chunks.

Peeled and chunked but no burned fingers.

Miss Lewis and Mr. Peacock note that sweet potatoes are fibrous and recommend putting them through a food mill if you want "perfectly smooth" whipped potatoes.  I did not do this.  I noticed that some fibers wrapped themselves around the mixer's beater, so I pulled them from the bowl and threw them away.  

Beaten until mashed

I cut the butter into chunks before adding it to the whipped potatoes.  I forgot to warm the cream, but the potatoes were so hot (steaming vigorously when being whipped) that it didn't seem to be a problem.  I used just 1/3 cup cream.  My butter was salted, so I used 1/4 teaspoon salt instead of 1/2 teaspoon.

Whipped until smooth

After the second whipping, I tasted it and deemed it "just right."  It was smooth enough, and the salt was enhancing the sweet without being salty.  The mixture went into a serving bowl, and I used a spoon to smooth and swirl the surface.

Ready to serve

The Verdict

It was lovely.  The sweet potatoes were not too sweet but just enough so to tickle my taste buds.  They were creamy and felt good on the tongue.  The cardamom was more of a sensation in my nose than a taste, which I loved.  I think the nutmeg was a background flavor, as it didn't come through as "nutmeg" but when I focused on it, I could taste it.  It was a good support for the cardamom.

My guest tasters thought what they saw was regular whipped potatoes and were surprised that they were sweet potatoes.  I had purchased the lighter-colored variety instead of the bold, orange type.  They agreed on my assessment of the flavors, describing the result as "fantastic" and "really good."  They particularly liked how creamy it was.

Success!  

I was not surprised that it was good, and appreciated that it was fantastic.  I served it with roasted turkey, stuffing, and a cucumber salad.  And white wine!  It was a good dinner.

Extra:  Reheating the leftovers seemed to taste even better.  

Ante de Camote y Piña - A Luscious Dessert with Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple

In the previous post I wrote about making a mamón, a cake that is traditional to the Oaxaca region of Mexico.  Its recipe came from Encarnación Pinedo's book, El cocinero español.

The mamón turned out beautifully and was ready for me to use it in this recipe, Ante de Camote y Pina.  An "ante" is a dessert with a long history - the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy defines it as:

[An] Old dish made of bread (sponge cake or marquesote) bathed in a mixture of sugar syrup and fruit pulp, and decorated with dried fruits or pieces of the same fruit with which it was made.  Its origin dates back several centuries in Spain, but it is not known exactly how long it was prepared.  In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, certain sweet preparations were made in Mexican convents that were used before the meal; that is why they were called "before."  Sometimes they included ground chicken breast.

Taste and tradition changed over time, and in the second half of the 19th century they were already served after the meal, as dessert.  Its name and most of its ingredients were preserved, since they were made mainly from fruits as we know them today.  The former sweets for dessert are considered of Mexican origin, because here they underwent many changes and tropical fruits typical of these lands were used.  Ante was a very popular dessert in Oaxaca during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but today the tradition is dying out. 

Miss Pinedo's book has a whole category on antes, some using apples or apricots, some with milk, and even one with chocolate.  I chose this one because the combination of pineapple with sweet potatoes intrigued me.

Ante de camote y piña  (page 16)

Para una piña se tomarán tres libras de camote que se rayarán o molerán sin dejarles hebra alguna.

A cada libra de estas frutas se le pondrá libra y media de azúcar: Todo se pondrá al fuego hasta que tome punto de pasta, que es el de pegarse al cazo.

Se hará almíbar de medio punto con un poco de vino blanco para rociar con ella el mamón rebanado. Se pondrá una capa de mamón y otra de pasta hasta llegar á la última, la que se rociará con canela en polvo.

Sweet Potato and Pineapple Ante

For each pineapple, three pounds of sweet potato will be taken; they will be finely grated or ground with any fibers.

Each pound of these fruits will be given a pound and a half sugar: everything will be put on the fire until it takes point of paste, which will stick to the saucepan.

A syrup will be made with a little wine white; sprinkle the mamón with it. Put a layer of cake and another of paste, repeat until reaching the last, the one sprinkled with cinnamon powder.

My Redaction

1/2 pound fresh pineapple (weighed after peeling and coring)

1/2 pound sweet potato (weighed after peeling)

1 1/2 pounds sugar

4 ounces white wine

4 ounces sugar

powdered cinnamon

mamón (see previous post for recipe)

Filling ingredients

Chop the pineapple into small pieces (not pureed), being sure to keep all the juice.

Chop or grate the sweet potato into tiny pieces, about the size of a grain of rice.

Put these in a saucepan (with the juice!) and mix in the 1 1/2 pounds of sugar.

Cook over medium heat, stirring only occasionally, until the mixture starts to thicken, at about 135 degrees F.  Reduce heat as needed to keep the mixture from boiling over.  Remove from the heat when it reaches temperature.

In the meantime, make a simple syrup by mixing the white wine and 4 ounces of sugar together in a small pan.  Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes clear and begins to boil.  Remove from the heat.

Create the ante by slicing the mamón into 1/2 inch thick pieces and layering them like this:

• A layer of mamón, with about 1/3 of the simple syrup spooned evenly over it
• About half of the pineapple mixture spread over the mamón 
• Another layer of mamón with syrup
• Another layer of pineapple mixture
• The final layer of mamón with syrup

Sprinkle the top with powdered cinnamon.  

Let stand to cool and allow the syrup to distribute through the mamón.

My Notes

Since the fresh pineapple I bought was small and weighed about 3 pounds, I decided that the ratio of pineapple to sweet potato should be one-to-one.  I used the food processor to chop the pineapple.  I didn't want it to be too finely chopped as I thought some texture in the fruit layer would be good.

I chopped the sweet potato separately and finely.  Since it was going to be cooked in the syrup and wouldn't necessarily become pureed, I didn't want big, chewy chunks in it.

The pineapple juice initially moistened the sugar and then the sugar extracted more juice.  It didn't take long for the mixture to be wet.

Cooking it over medium high heat got it to boiling quickly.

Then I turned the heat down so it was cooking but not going crazy.

I had to decide how far it should cook.  Should it be taken off the fire as soon as it felt thick?  Or should it cook until it stuck to the side of the pan?  Both of these were suggested in the recipe.  Also, Miss Pinedo's instructions in a different part of the book on cooking syrups like this described the hard ball stage of cooking sugar.  That takes it to about 145 degrees F.  

It started looking thick around 120 degrees F.  It was more sticky at around 135 degrees F.  I took it to 145 degrees F.

It was then I realized this was probably a mistake, as the little bit that had stuck to the stirring spoon set up hard: not break-your-teeth hard but pull-out-your-fillings sticky and chewy.  If it got too cool before I assembled the ante, I wouldn't be able to spread it.  So I worked quickly to put it all together.

First a layer of mamón, then spooned some wine syrup over the top.  Not a lot since she said to sprinkle it.

Mamón only

With the lovely tasting wine syrup

Then I poured the pineapple mixture over it and spread it with a spoon.  I tried to get it to the sides to show off its color against the white of the mamón.

Three layers of mamón seemed right -- not too tall but still interesting to look at and, hopefully, the right proportion of fruit to cake.  When I was sprinkling the cinnamon on top, it got a little out of control and I put on more than I intended.

Ante, first attempt.

I had both filling and mamón left over, so I dissolved the filling in water and recooked it, this time to 135 degrees F.  I made another batch of the wine syrup.  This time I really soaked the mamón with the syrup because I had made a larger quantity:  6 ounces white wine to 6 ounces sugar.  The filling spread well.  I went a little crazy with the cinnamon on top.

Ante, second attempt.

The Verdict

I had three new guest tasters, one of whom had eaten mamón before.  She declared mine "excellent" and said they all liked the ante. 

My two other guest tasters and I tried both versions.  We all agreed on these assessments:

The first version had a crispy mamón and the filling was chewy.  That was good!  The mamón was sturdy enough to stand up to the filling and it was intriguing to have a bite of "cake" that was more like a very light cookie.  The wine syrup made the mamón just a little bit moist and added a floral under-flavor - almost not noticeable but still appreciated.  Having the moisture kept each bite from being too dry or chewy.

The filling had a robust flavor that was mainly pineapple but you could tell it wasn't just pineapple.  So the sweet potato did add flavor and it definitely added texture.  I was surprised it didn't soften when it was cooked, which makes me think that it candied.  I had anticipated it would smooth out and turn the whole filling into a paste.  It was more like a chunky, chewy candy.  I was glad I had chopped the sweet potato into such tiny pieces or it could have been too chunky.

The cinnamon on top was really such a good idea.  It was the perfect accompaniment to all the other flavors.  Whoever thought of that deserves kudos.  

The second version was very different in texture.  Recooking the filling to a softer stage meant it wasn't chewy; it resisted my bite a little but wasn't something I had to chew to eat.  It was more like those cake fillings that are made of fruit and thickened with cornstarch -- moist and firm but not hard.  

Also, I had soaked the mamón with a lot more syrup because I had read that it was supposed to soak up the liquid.  This made a huge difference in its texture -- cutting a bite with my fork, I felt that it was much softer and it made that "moist cake" noise. 

Putting the soaked mamón with the softer filling was a very good idea.  With both of them being softer than the first version, we felt they were well-balanced.  The cinnamon on top was still a good idea.

So both were a success!  If you want crispy, don't soak the mamón too much.  If you want moist, really soak it with the syrup.  Matching the chewiness of the filling is good, too.  

One comment that my two guest tasters made that surprised me was that they both felt it wasn't too sweet.  Why was I surprised?  There is sugar in everything!  But overall, the impression they got was "not too sweet", which they liked.  

If I make this again, I would change the shape of the mamón, making it thin and bigger, like a layer cake round or square.  I liked the three layer effect and the balance of the about 1/2 inch mamón with the thinner layer of filling between.  I didn't like how I had to piece it together to make the layers.  How much syrup would I use to soak the mamón?  I think it would depend on how I felt at the time.  Both the moist and the crispy versions were good.

Don't forget the cinnamon on top!

Sweet Potato - Apple Soufflé

I like to reserve the final posting of the calendar year for a favorite recipe of mine, whether or not it is historical.  This one has been a favorite for over ten years and a great way to serve up sweet potatoes any time but particularly during the holidays.

It is from The Mount Vernon Cookbook, published by The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, which I purchased in 1999 while visiting Mount Vernon.  At the time I thought it was a collection of historical recipes all from George Washington's era but now I see it more as a ladies' club collection with Virginia vibes.  This is not a complaint!  The few I have tried have been excellent.

ISBN 0-931917-13-1

On page 128 is the Sweet Potato - Apple Soufflé.  It serves 6 to 8 and is tasty without being sweet.

2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups applesauce
1 Tablespoon grated orange rind
3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted butter
4 eggs, separated

Two more eggs joined the party later

Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Add to applesauce with orange rind.  Mix well.  Combine sweet potatoes, salt, applesauce mixture and butter.  Add beaten egg yolks.

All but the whites

Beat egg whites stiff and fold into applesauce-sweet potato mixture.

Whites gently folded in

Pile lightly into greased 3-quart casserole.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Ready to serve immediately

My Notes

Turn on the oven to preheat before you get started.  Get the eggs separated, too, so the whites can warm up a bit before you beat them.  I put the whites right into the bowl in which they will be beaten.

I either bake the sweet potatoes in the oven or cook them in the microwave.  This is done in advance so you can peel and mash them easily.

Start with a big bowl for the sugar and cinnamon and add everything to it in order.  That way you have enough room through to the end!

It is important to mix in stages as described.  This gives the sweet potatoes a chance to get very mashed and blended with the other ingredients.

The recipe calls for a 3-quart casserole but I have used a 2-quart without any problems.

I keep the oven door closed while it is cooking although I check it at about 40 minutes to make sure it doesn't get too brown.  The center might jiggle when it is still hot but the dish is cooked thoroughly when a knife blade inserted into the middle comes out clean.

The Verdict

Success!  This is a very light and tasty way to serve sweet potatoes.  The applesauce adds a bit of sweet and the orange peel is an excellent flavor complement.  The cinnamon is just enough to hint without competing for attention.

The texture is fluffy and delicate when hot. An excellent accompaniment to ham, turkey, or chicken and is even better with a side serving of cranberry sauce.

The leftovers are also very good cold.

I've made this with freshly grated orange zest, dried orange zest, and no orange at all.  They were all excellent!

Here's how I served the soufflé at my dinner, with a slice of spiral cut ham and a sauce of brown mustard mixed with bitter orange marmalade, mixed well and heated:

Along with a tossed green salad, delicious!

Sweet Potato Pudding No. 1

This is actually what we call a pie because it has a crust but it looked simple and interesting, so I gave it a go.

The recipe is from Thomas Jefferson's Cook Book, by Marie Kimball.  It was originally published by the University Press of Virginia in 1976 and this is the fourth (1987) printing.

ISBN 0-8139-0706-3

Sweet Potato Pudding No. 1

Boil 1 pound of sweet potatoes until tender.  Rub them through a sieve.  Add 5 well-beaten eggs, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of butter, the grated rind of 1 lemon, a dash of nutmeg, and a wineglass of brandy.  Line a baking dish with pastry and pour in the mixture.  Sprinkle with sugar and bits of citron and bake in a slow oven until set.  -- Mrs. Mary Randolf.

I believe this Mrs. Mary Randolf is the sister of Thomas Jefferson's son-in-law and she is also a descendent of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.  She is famous for her housekeeping and cook book, The Virginia Housewife.  This puts her solidly into the Colonial American time period.  Sweet potatoes are a New World food and someone from Virginia was likely to know how to cook with it.

I updated the methods by first microwaving the sweet potato until it was tender.  Once it was cool, it was easy to peel.

Then I put the sweet potato into my food processor and blended it until it was mushy.  After that I added the rest of the ingredients (not the pie crust!) and blended until it was smooth.  *Forgive me, History, but I couldn't bring myself to use an entire cup of butter -- I used 1/2 cup, slightly melted.

My "wineglass of brandy" was about 4 ounces.

Once the mixture was poured in the crust, I sprinkled sugar over the top but skipped the citron because I still don't own any.

Pre-oven

This pie was in a ceramic pan so I set the temperature to 325 degrees F and baked it until it was puffy all through -- about 60 minutes.  The very middle still looked moist but it was puffed and didn't jiggle, so I figured it was "set".

Post-oven, still hot

The smell was heavenly!

Waiting for it to cool enough to eat was challenging.

Cooled.  The cracking looks distinguished, no?

The Verdict:  Oh. my.  This is incredibly tasty with the sweet potato, lemon, nutmeg, and brandy flavors.  It is fluffy like a chiffon pie without having to deal with the whites separately.  The texture is light and smooth.  Each forkful melts in your mouth.  The sprinkling of sugar on the top before baking makes a sweet, slightly crunchy thin crust.

This "pudding" is marvelous just as it is.

If I were to change anything, I would add less sugar -- perhaps just a cup -- and I made the right decision on the butter.

By the way, don't skip the brandy in this recipe.  It brings the flavors to an incredible height and is a natural pairing with the nutmeg.

And yes!  The center was cooked all the way through.