Recipe: Mashed Sweet Potato and Apple with Smoked Chili and Maple
Meet Katy Sparks, a new contributor to our recipes pages.
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Katy Sparks, a new food contributor to the RI family. Katy owns and operates Katy Sparks Culinary Consulting, a full-service culinary and hospitality consulting firm with a focus on nutrient-dense and locally sourced, seasonal recipe development and efficient kitchen design. She spent over 20 years in the New York City food world, climbing the culinary ladder to Executive Chef. She recently settled in the southern Berkshires where she finds daily inspiration from the local food makers and growers that this abundant region supports.
Katy Sparks
This fall’s gorgeous harvest from our regional farms inspired this simple and flexible side dish. I say flexible because it can easily accommodate a change of plans if you are more drawn to the butternut squash than the sweet potato or to the lusciously ripe pears instead of the apples. Just be sure to peel the butternut if that’s your choice —it is too tough to eat like the sweet potatoes’ relatively tender outer skin. I always advocate eating the well-washed skins of most produce when possible since nutrition science tells us that this protective barrier is where a wealth of health supporting nutrients resides, so why relegate it to the compost bin?
What better way to add warming flavor notes than smoked chilies —aka chipotles — and deeply sweet local maple syrup? A touch of cinnamon pulls all the flavors together. If you don’t tend to keep buttermilk in your fridge like I do, just use a dollop of plain yogurt or even sour cream instead.
And lastly there’s the garnish: simply crisping up sage leaves in butter gives this side dish some extra flavor dimension and visual drama. And because you can never have too much cheese, feel free to garnish with a few crumbles of feta — completely your call. Enjoy!
Mashed Sweet Potato and Apple with Smoked Chili and Maple
Serves 4
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed but unpeeled
2 small, or 1 large apple, rinsed and cored but unpeeled
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (I prefer Grade B for its richer flavor)
½ tea. cinnamon
¼ tea. fine sea salt
¼ cup buttermilk (at room temperature)
1-2 teaspoons of minced chipotles in adobo
2-3 Tablespoons butter
8-12 fresh sage leaves
Optional: 2 Tablespoons of crumbled feta
1. Preheat oven on roast setting to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the sweet potato and apples into medium-sized chunks. Place the chunks in an oven-proof casserole with the maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and a ¼ cup of cold water. Cover the casserole dish and steam/roast for 30 minutes or until both the sweet potatoes and the apples are very tender.
3. While the sweet potato and apple mixture is roasting, “fry” the sage leaves in butter. Using a non-stick pan, bring the butter up to the foamy stage, add the sage leaves and cook over low heat until the leaves start to crisp. Drain the sage on paper towel but reserve the sage-scented browned butter for garnishing the mash.
4. Using a potato masher or even a fork, crush the sweet potato and apple together while drizzling in the buttermilk and folding in the minced chipotles. Taste for seasoning, adding more chipotle, salt or maple syrup if desired.
5. Transfer the mash to a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved sage butter and the sage leaves. Sprinkle with crumbled feta if using.
