Sweet Potato

Premium Number One Beauregards are a popular variety of sweet potato grown in Vardaman, Mississippi. There are ninety sweet-potato farms within forty miles of this town, which even boasts a Sweet Potato Street running right into Main Street. With twenty thousand acres under cultivation, sweet potatoes have to be the state’s largest vegetable crop. Here a tart-sweet treatment and a dusting of crystalline flakes of salt elevate the down-home goodness of my favorite Beauregards.

Roasting intensifies the flavors in this fragrant dish, which is easily prepared and requires little attention while it’s in the oven. If you like the flavor of garam masala or commercial curry powder and it’s in your cupboard, use it.

Inspired by a Southwestern Native American dish, this is a sunny, colorful stew of roasted vegetables in a hot and smoky mole-type sauce.

I go apple picking every year, and I’m always amazed by how easily you can taste the difference between varieties right off the tree. So when I work with apples, I try to capture those flavors. This soup reminds me of mulled cider but lighter and fresher.

Here, I’ve created my version of sweet potato pie, but it’s not as heavy and not as sweet. The cranberry foam gives a nice added pop of acidity.

Root vegetables are particularly forgiving when it comes to roasting times: Slightly undercooked and they have a little extra firmness, while on the other hand it takes quite a while to overcook them to the mushiness point. So this recipe is one of my main choices when I’m preparing an entrée that’s going to require stovetop attention at the end of cooking. While I’m reducing a sauce or sautéing some veal, I don’t want to worry that I’ll need to remove the veggies from the oven at precisely 7:15. And with this recipe, I don’t.

Serve this attractive side dish with your holiday meal or with roast beef for Sunday dinner. Baking at a high temperature slightly caramelizes the bottom of the squash for a delightful taste.

Pat: Gina’s grandmother loved cane syrup, which is a sorghumlike syrup that has a deep bittersweet flavor. If you can’t find cane syrup, use an equal amount of dark-brown sugar plus 2 tablespoons molasses. This dish gives a new twist to a classic Thanksgiving side. The gooey marshmallows and brown sugar keep the kids happy, while the “big kids” will love the addition of orange liqueur, warm spices, and pecans.

Pat: This creamy corn chowder, packed with vegetables and spices, has more sass than your average chowder (and the sweet potato and spices give it a distinct orange hue). The ingredients smoky bacon, fresh herbs, and a little Neely kick (cayenne pepper) combine for an over-the-top, out-of-this-world chowder flavor. When corn is at its peak, during the summer, we use fresh kernels straight from the cob. But since we crave this soup all year long, we use frozen corn as well and get great results. If you use frozen corn, look for the white kernels—they are particularly sweet.

French fries are maddeningly delicious, but consider that a large order of McDonald’s French fries contains about 500 calories and 25 grams of fat before you dip them into ketchup or mayo. I think it’s time for French fry rehab, don’t you?

I learned that sweet potatoes are the single healthiest vegetable. They’re loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. You can dress them up a bunch of different ways, but this simple puree is ideal.

Sweet potatoes are very popular in Morocco. In this recipe, their sweet, delicate flavor marries well with the mixture of aromatics.

Serve this with the menu on page 194 or with Fruited Bulgur Salad (page 48) and some sliced bell peppers.

I just love sweet potatoes spiced with curry—what a superb fusion of flavors! This and the following recipe will help prove my point.

A traditional side dish is made even better with the addition of sweet potato. The flavors and colors are heightened, and the nutritional quality is enhanced.