Here it is the end of March and we’re still working our way through our 2024 sweet potato harvest. It’s an amazing root vegetable and a nutritional powerhouse. We have been growing our own starts from saved plants for over 25 years. The variety is Jewel. It’s large, good tasting, with exceptional storage. They can last for up to a year, stored in our heated but cool basement, wrapped in newspaper.
I’m always looking for unsweet ways to use them because I’m more of a ‘savory character’ but who doesn’t love a good pie. One of my favorites is pumpkin pie. Sweet potatoes are sweeter than pumpkin so I use less added sugar. Otherwise, it’s a traditional pumpkin pie recipe.
Sweet Potato Pie Recipe
Filling:
1 ½ cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (I used a food processor to make them really smooth, otherwise they can be very fibrous).
½ cup sugar
1 ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 ½ cups milk (regular, plant milk, part half & half, part evaporated milk – your choice)
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell (store bought or make your own favorite crust)
Combine sweet potato, sugar, salt and spices. Blend in eggs and milk. Pour into pastry shell (have edges crimped high because amount of filling is generous). Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 50-60 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool.
Here’s a recipe I’ve been using if you want to make your own crust.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (May use part soft whole wheat flour.)
¾ tsp. Kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
1/3 cup Ice water – may need extra ice water if using any whole wheat flour
Make the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Working over the bowl, grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the grated butter in the flour. Stir in 1/3 cup of ice water until the dough is evenly moistened. Scrape out onto a work surface, gather up any crumbs and knead gently just until the dough comes together. Pat into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Roll out the dough to fit your pie pan. You will use less added flour if you roll it between two pieces of wax paper. If you decide to use this crust I would recommend putting a circle of foil around the edges otherwise they get quite brown.