A simple sweet potato baked slowly in the oven gives off the most enticing aroma. The natural sugars transform into a sort of magical sticky glaze that keeps the flesh nice and moist, and when it’s scooped out and simmered with a touch of vegetable stock and milk, it becomes almost decadent. Seasoning the puree with freshly squeezed orange juice makes it pop, elevating that familiar and comforting sweet potato flavor.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes 2 large (about 1 ½ lbs total), scrubbed and patted dry
- Vegetable Stock ½ cup
- Whole Milk ½ cup
- Kosher Salt 1 tsp
- Freshly Ground White Pepper ¼ tsp
- Fresh Orange Juice 2 Tbs
Cook It
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
- Place the sweet potatoes in a baking dish and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until completely tender. Let cool completely.
- Cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise in half, scoop out the flesh, and roughly chop it (discard the skins). Combine the flesh, vegetable stock, and milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced by about half, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the salt and white pepper, and blend on high until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Blend in the orange juice and serve. Or transfer to a container, cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days; reheat before serving.
Recipe excerpted from South by Sean Brock (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2019. Photographs by Peter Frank Edwards. Used with permission from the publisher.
Read the review South by Sean Brock
