They are neither potatoes nor yams, but sweet potatoes can be served in a variety of ways.
Sweet potatoes grow best in the long days of sunlight and warm temperatures of summer that we just passed. While they are generally available year around, the peak season falls from late October through December.
But, the real question is a sweet potato the same thing as a yam?
In a grocery store you’ll see that the sweet potato skin color ranges from white to yellow, orange and more. Sweet potato varieties are classified as either “firm,” when they remain mealy and relative firm when cooked or “soft” when the cooked flesh becomes soft and moist. The flesh of the soft ones is usually orange while the firm sweet potatoes are white or yellow. It is the “soft” varieties that are often labeled as yams.
Why are sweet potatoes mistakenly called yams? The Library of Congress has even been asked this critical question and their response is: “In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.”
And, another thing that adds to its inferiority complex is a sweet potato is not a potato. Botanically speaking, it is Ipomoea batatas belonging to the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, while a potato is Solanum tuberosum, from the nightshade family. A yam, by the way, is in the genus of Diocorea and all yams have to be cooked before eating in order to destroy the bitter, toxic substance that they contain. So, you don’t see them sold at the local grocery store, despite some bins of sweet potatoes erroneously labeled “yams.”
Given all of this confusion on its name and its identity, you can see why TV chef Alton Brown was compelled to devote an entire show to the sweet potato in his show “Good Eats” in the Season 7, Episode 2 called “Potato, My Sweet.” In this episode, Alton (or AB if you know him well) is pursued by a theatrical agent for the sweet potato who tries to persuade AB to show the orange root as the star that it is, instead of a side dish. Spoiler alert: AB is won over by the end of the program.
Sweet Potato Crostini
Makes 30 crostini.
I love crostini, which is much like a bruschetta, except traditionally crostini is thinner and brushed with olive oil. Of course, in the US, we expropriated the name to mean just about anything served on a thin slice of a baguette. So, why not spread a crostini with sweet potato and top it with figs, especially, if you are like me, and you have a Black Mission fig tree in your back yard?
Ingredients:
1 large baguette, sliced into roughly thirty ¼-inch rounds Sweet potato spread: 1 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 3 cups) 1 ½ tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves ½ teaspoon orange zest ½ teaspoon salt
For the figs:
A large handful of fresh figs, sliced into quarters.
Or, if you’re using dried figs:
½ cup dry red wine ¼ cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange) 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 1 cup sliced dried figs (about 4 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.Toast the baguette slices until slight brown, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool but leave oven on.
Make the sweet potato spread: spread the sweet potato cubes on a lined half sheet pan and roast until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the honey, olive oil, and rosemary and warm them over low heat. Add the cooked sweet potatoes and mash the mixture to a paste. Add the salt and set aside to cool.
If using dried figs: In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the wine, orange juice, and brown sugar and heat until just boiling. Add the figs to rehydrate them, cover, and set aside for 5 minutes and drain the figs.
To assemble the crostini: Spread the crostini with the sweet potato mixture, top with one or two sliced figs, and serve.
Sweet Potatoes with Tahini
Serves 6 as a side dish.
This started out as a way of improving the classic side dish of roasted sweet potatoes, but with the addition of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, chopped green onions and some roasted nuts, this could become a whole dinner.
Basic Tahini Sauce
½ cup tahini ¼ cup fresh lemon juice 6 tablespoons water, plus more as needed 1 small garlic clove, grated or pressed ½ teaspoon sea salt Sweet potatoes 8 small sweet potatoes (about 3 lb. total), scrubbed, halved lengthwise ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided Kosher salt Flaky sea salt 1 lime, cut into wedges
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. Place sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with ¼ cup oil, and season with kosher salt. Turn to coat. Arrange cut side down and roast until tender (the tip of a knife should slide easily into flesh) and cut sides are browned, 25–30 minutes.
While potatoes are roasting, make tahini sauce
Arrange sweet potatoes on a platter and spread tahini sauce. Sprinkle with sea salt and spoon. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Dinner Salad with Radicchio and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
As Alton Brown proved in his “Good Eats” show, sweet potatoes can take a starring role in dinner. But, it does need a good support cast, which we have in firm lettuce, a spicy dressing and never hurts to add some eggs on top of just about anything.
Cashew Dressing
½ cup salted, roasted cashews ¼ cup vegetable oil 3 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar ¾ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes ¾ tsp. fish sauce ¾ tsp. honey 1 garlic clove Kosher salt
Blend cashews, oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, fish sauce, honey, garlic, and ¹⁄³ cup warm water in a blender until very creamy, smooth, and pourable. Taste dressing and season with salt.
4 small sweet potatoes (about 1½ lb. total), scrubbed, halved lengthwise. I like the ‘soft’ orange sweet potatoes but you could pull this off with the firm, white ones. 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt 4 large eggs 2 heads of radicchio (about 1 lb. total), quartered, cores removed, leaves separated 1 small fennel bulb, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced lengthwise 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar Flaky sea salt ½ cup crushed salted, roasted cashews ½ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. Place sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and season with kosher salt; turn to coat. Arrange cut side down; roast until tender and cut sides are browned, 20–25 minutes. Let cool.
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully lower eggs into water and cook 9 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Remove eggs from ice water, pat dry, and peel.
Toss radicchio, fennel, and vinegar in a large bowl; season with sea salt. Drizzle ½ cup dressing down sides of bowl. Use a tong or your hands, fold salad, working from the bottom out toward the sides of the bowl, until evenly coated in dressing.
Transfer salad to a platter. Tear sweet potatoes and eggs into 1½” pieces and nestle into salad. Season with sea salt. Drizzle more dressing over and top with cashews and cilantro. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.
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October 13, 2020 at 04:19AM
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Ken Morris: Cooking for Comfort: The oh-so sweet potato, and why they are not yams - Napa Valley Register
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