I know this is a heated topic, but I choose this sweet potato puree before I choose the marshmallow one every single time. I mean, sweet potatoes are already, well, sweet. And marshmallows are super sweet. I totally get that it’s a classic comfort food that people just can’t live without, and if that’s you, marshmallow on. But I just can’t go there.
I do love a good marshmallow, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll save them for dessert. I might even get them all toasty over a fire and make s’mores with my grain-free graham crackers and some good chocolate. I might be getting off topic.
sweet potato puree with apples and sage
Back to the spuds.
I made this dish for a wedding I catered recently, and they were a bit hit. They were one of three family style side dishes, along with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Thyme, and Sunchokes with Gremolata. The wedding itself was lovely; an intimate gathering tucked into the redwood mountains outside of Santa Cruz, California.
It was one of those events that just naturally meshed perfectly with the food that I make, rustic yet refined. Bright white tablecloths in the redwoods. It was the first wedding I’ve catered since returning from my own wedding in Connecticut earlier in October, and was the perfect reintroduction to work. A good reminder of why I love what I do.
This dish tastes a lot like Thanksgiving, to me, and would be a wonderful addition to your Holiday feast this year. And maybe each year that follows, as well. The silky smooth sweet potatoes are the star, as they should be, with the apples and sage offering the perfect counterpoint of flavor. The apples also offer a little hit of texture, as long as you don’t over cook them. You want them to be just softened, not apple sauce.
Sweet Potato Puree with Apples and Sage
serves: 4, easily scaled
For the puree:
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and sliced in 1 inch thick rounds
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup butter, ghee, or fat of choice
For the apple topping:
2 apples, preferably a firm variety, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 tablespoon butter, ghee, or fat of choice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage (about 5-6 leaves), plus additional for garnish, optional
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
For the sweet potato puree:
- In a medium stock pot, add enough water to cover the sweet potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Once very soft (likely after about 15-20 minutes), drain.
- Transfer the sweet potatoes to a food processor along with the butter, nutmeg, cardamom and salt, and puree until smooth. You may have to scrape down the sides a few times to get it smoothly pureed. Alternately, you can use a food mill, or a hand held masher. (The masher won’t get them as silky smooth, but does the trick.)
Meanwhile, make the apples:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- Add the apples and saute, stirring often until just softened but not mushy, about 8 minutes.
- Add the sage, cinnamon, and salt and saute another 30 seconds. If there is anything stuck to the bottom of the pan, add a tablespoon or so of water and scrape it up and mix it into the apples. There’s good flavor in there!
Serve the apple mixture over the sweet potatoes.
I know this is a heated topic, but I choose this sweet potato puree before I choose the marshmallow one every single time. I mean, sweet potatoes are already, well, sweet. And marshmallows are super sweet. I totally get that it’s a classic comfort food that people just can’t live without, and if that’s you, marshmallow on. But I just can’t go there.
I do love a good marshmallow, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll save them for dessert. I might even get them all toasty over a fire and make s’mores with my grain-free graham crackers and some good chocolate. I might be getting off topic.
sweet potato puree with apples and sage
Back to the spuds.
I made this dish for a wedding I catered recently, and they were a bit hit. They were one of three family style side dishes, along with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Thyme, and Sunchokes with Gremolata. The wedding itself was lovely; an intimate gathering tucked into the redwood mountains outside of Santa Cruz, California.
It was one of those events that just naturally meshed perfectly with the food that I make, rustic yet refined. Bright white tablecloths in the redwoods. It was the first wedding I’ve catered since returning from my own wedding in Connecticut earlier in October, and was the perfect reintroduction to work. A good reminder of why I love what I do.
This dish tastes a lot like Thanksgiving, to me, and would be a wonderful addition to your Holiday feast this year. And maybe each year that follows, as well. The silky smooth sweet potatoes are the star, as they should be, with the apples and sage offering the perfect counterpoint of flavor. The apples also offer a little hit of texture, as long as you don’t over cook them. You want them to be just softened, not apple sauce.
Sweet Potato Puree with Apples and Sage
serves: 4, easily scaledFor the puree:
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and sliced in 1 inch thick rounds
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup butter, ghee, or fat of choice
For the apple topping:
2 apples, preferably a firm variety, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 tablespoon butter, ghee, or fat of choice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage (about 5-6 leaves), plus additional for garnish, optional
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
For the sweet potato puree:
- In a medium stock pot, add enough water to cover the sweet potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Once very soft (likely after about 15-20 minutes), drain.
- Transfer the sweet potatoes to a food processor along with the butter, nutmeg, cardamom and salt, and puree until smooth. You may have to scrape down the sides a few times to get it smoothly pureed. Alternately, you can use a food mill, or a hand held masher. (The masher won’t get them as silky smooth, but does the trick.)
Meanwhile, make the apples:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
- Add the apples and saute, stirring often until just softened but not mushy, about 8 minutes.
- Add the sage, cinnamon, and salt and saute another 30 seconds. If there is anything stuck to the bottom of the pan, add a tablespoon or so of water and scrape it up and mix it into the apples. There’s good flavor in there!
Serve the apple mixture over the sweet potatoes.
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jake3_14 says
Is the cardamom a pod, seeds, or powder? Also, is it the green or black/brown cardamom? How well does this dish keep over a week?
zenbellyblog says
It’s ground. It’s whatever kind of cardamom usually comes ground. Either works. The dish should store fine for 5 days or so, I don’t like to keep things much longer than that. Week tops. Just keep the apples separate until you serve it if you want the presentation of the apples on top.
Jo says
The marshmallows thing is incomprehensible and such a very foreign concept here (Australia / Sydney). I grew up on sweet potatoes, mashed, baked, fried, served as wedges with sour cream and thai sweet chilli sauce (served at cafes as a staple here), but never ever with marshmallows. It’s odd how some food combos which are so traditional in some cultures are so unknown in others. When did it start I wonder? Who was the first person to think marshmallows were a good thing to add to your veggies?
zenbellyblog says
Your version of sweet potatoes sounds MUCH better than the marshmallow craziness! Sour cream and Thai sweet chili sauce? Sign me up for that. I have no idea where it started over here! It’s one of THE dishes that are on a traditional Thanksgiving table, but was never on ours. Jews just don’t do that type of thing, haha. 😉
Lee says
Made this for an early thanksgiving celebration with friends this weekend and it was delicious.
Approximate macronutrients if you do it with Kerrygold Butter as your fat of choice (per serving, which is a pretty big serving size, i think realistically most of us only ate about 1/2 that size and it was a pretty decent scoop)
Fat: 14 g
Carbs: 82 g
Protein: 7g
Great source of fiber, potassium, vitamin A, C