Herbed Sweet Potato Puree with Caramelized Shallots

Ok, so I know that many of us are familiar with sweet potato casserole- especially at Thanksgiving. And yes, it's often sweet sweet potato casserole with maybe some marshmallows or some sort of a crunchy sugary topping.

There are sweet potato chips and sweet potato fries- which seem to have much more flavor than their distant regular potato relatives. If I have to choose, I'd go with the sweet potato versions pretty much every time. But I can't recall having seen them at the store or on menus prior to about 10 years ago. Honestly, they seem to have been fairly recent additions.

Then again, maybe that's just me.

Anyway, this is a different version of sweet potatoes. A savory pureed version.

They're a little different, but sometimes you need a little different.

Sweet potatoes are harder in texture than potatoes, so you'll want to be a little more careful when cutting them since they require more force to get the job done. Maybe they're something like the hardness of a butternut squash if that gives any idea (just watch your fingers please).

Adapted from Cooks Country, December/January 2007.

Herbed Sweet Potato Puree with Caramelized Shallots

serves 5-6

2 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes

5 T butter, divided

2 T heavy cream, divided

1/4 c whole milk

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 t kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 t pepper, plus more for seasoning

1 3/4 t sugar, divided

3 large shallots, cut into a large dice (about 1 cup of shallots)
1 rounded T sour cream

Peel and quarter the sweet potatoes, then cut each quarter into approximately 1/4 inch slices. 

Place the cut sweet potatoes, 4 T butter, cream, milk, thyme sprigs, 1 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, and 1 1/2 t sugar in a large heavy pot or dutch oven. Cook covered over low hear until potatoes are very tender, 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
While the sweet potatoes cook, melt the remaining 1 T butter in a small skillet and add shallot, 1/4 t sugar, and 1/2 t salt. Cook over low heat until shallot is caramelized, about 20 minutes. Set aside until sweet potatoes are done cooking. 
Once the sweet potatoes have finished cooking, take the pan off the heat. Discard thyme sprigs and mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher. Stir in the sour cream and shallots. 
Serve warm.


*The recipe may be doubled, but the cooking time will also need to be doubled.