If you'd told me ten years ago that I'd be making pies out of sweet potatoes one day, I'd have said you were nuts. But as it turns out, I like sweet potato pie a lot better than the pumpkin pies I was raised on.
SP pie tastes a lot like pumpkin pie, but with more texture, more color, and more flavor (and it's WAY easier to roast a couple of potatoes than a pumpkin).
Here's a really simple, really good recipe for an easy sweet potato pie:
3 good-sized (or 2 really big) sweet potatoes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract (REAL, please, not the fake stuff)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 frozen pie crust
Stab the sweet potatoes with a fork (a lot - let it all out, people), then put them on a foil-covered cookie sheet and roast at 400 for about 50 minutes - maybe 55 - till squishy.
Let them cool for an hour, then strip off the skins (easy to do if they're fully roasted) and break them up in a big bowl. Preheat oven to 350.
Add the softened butter, break out the mixer, and beat till close to smooth.
Add everything else - sugar, milk, eggs, spices, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat till it's a little fluffy.
Take your frozen crust out of the bag and put it on the foil-lined cookie sheet you just used to roast the potatoes. Spatula the mix into it.
Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes. When a knife or toothpick comes out clean, you're done.
Notes:
- Yes, it'll rise like a souffle. Don't worry. This is why you put it on a foiled cookie sheet. It'll sink when it cools.
- Do NOT roast the sweet potatoes ahead of time and then refrigerate - they get grainy. Also, don't boil instead of roasting - they get stringy. Just put them in the oven. Roasted sweet potatoes taste richer, blend better, and make a prettier pie. (And for God's sake, if you live in NC, don't use canned. Sweet potatoes are cheap and plentiful here, so there's no excuse.)
- Some people like it a little sweeter, some less so. I'm not a big fan of supersweet pies, so this isn't one. If you're not concerned about a little raw egg, taste the batter - you may want to throw in some honey or maple syrup.
- If you're really picky about plating, you might want to throw in a tablespoon or two of flour to make it cut better. But if you're okay with sloppy slices, it's really better without it.
- It's really good with whipped cream, but avoid Cool Whip - it drowns out the spices.
