Sweet Potato Soufflé
Everyone has a favorite Thanksgiving side dish. It's always hard for me to choose just one, and sometimes it varies year by year, but the dish with the most wins has to be this one. It's a side dish... it's a dessert... it's my mom's sweet potato soufflé!
This is one of the first recipes of my mom's that I tried to make on my own. Back in high school, for a big Thanksgiving potluck, this is what I chose to bring, and I happily made it myself. Since then, I've made it a few more times, and it's always mouth-wateringly, seconds-worthy delicious. Then again, it's hard to go wrong with a dish that calls for this much butter, as well as brown sugar and pecans! And technically, you could even call this a vegetable side. Wait, are sweet potatoes a vegetable? I'm going to go with yes.
In my opinion, this is hardly a soufflé – although it does call for eggs – but more like topped mashed sweet potatoes. You're essentially mashing sweet potatoes, and then adding a few things typical of mashed potatoes (like butter and milk), as well as some things not typical of mashed potatoes (eggs, sugar, and vanilla) that make this lighter and worthy of being called a soufflé. The topping is where the magic happens, though. It calls for pecans, brown sugar, a bit of flour, and a little more butter. This is a topping worthy of crumb cakes everywhere. If you're not a big fan of pecans, 1) I suppose you could try substituting a different type of nut, and 2) how dare you.
If you're looking to impress your family and friends this year, this is what I'd tell you to make. Unless they're on a diet or diabetic. And make sure you make a lot, because you'll need enough for people to get seconds. And thirds. And leftovers. (Hell, just make an extra one and send it to me while you're at it.) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
SWEET POTATO SOUFFLÉ
Prep Time: 60 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
3 medium sweet potatoes
¾ - 1 cup sugar
6 T melted butter
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
⅓ cup milk
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
⅓ cup flour
⅓ cup melted butter
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 F if you plan on baking this right away. If not, you can leave it uncooked in the fridge until you're ready to bake it! Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop.
Cut up your sweet potatoes into 1- to 2-inch cubes, and carefully place in the boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain the water, then mash the potatoes until they're as smooth as possible. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl and let them cool.
When the potatoes are cool, after about 30 minutes, add in the remaining main ingredients: sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Blend well, then pour into a 2-quart casserole dish.
Place your chopped pecans in a plastic bag and crush them a little extra so that you have a good mixture of crumbs and medium-size pecan pieces. Prepare your topping by combining the ingredients, then cutting the mixture until it's crumbly.
Sprinkle the topping all over the sweet potato mixture, then bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm, with turkey and cranberry sauce!
Happy Eating,
Natalie