Sweet Potato Puree With Bananas Buttered Pecans Food

SWEET POTATO PUREE

Steps:

• Place a steamer insert or a mesh colander in a large pot and add enough water to reach the bottom of the steamer. Place the sweet potatoes in the steamer and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and cook over simmering water for about 25 minutes, until very tender. Check occasionally to be sure the water doesn't boil away.
• Transfer the sweet potatoes to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add the half-and-half, orange zest, orange juice, cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. With the mixer still on low, add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Taste for seasonings and mix until smooth. Serve hot.

WHIPPED SWEET POTATOES AND BANANAS WITH HONEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Toss the bananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven but don't turn the oven off.
• When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl along with 1 stick of the butter, and the honey. Season with salt and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything's well combined and the mixture is fluffy. Spoon into an oven-proof serving bowl and smooth the top.
• In a separate mixing bowl, use your fingers to rub together the remaining stick of butter, the brown sugar, flour, and pecans until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the sweet potatoes and return to the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the crumbs are golden. Serve hot.

SWEET POTATO PUREE WITH BROWNED-BUTTER MAPLE SYRUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes a few times with a fork. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet until tender, 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Scoop out flesh from sweet potatoes, and puree in a food processor with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt until smooth (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Season with pepper.
• Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add butter; cook, swirling, until deep brown with a nutty aroma. Remove from heat; swirl in syrup. Reheat puree; transfer to a bowl. Pour butter over top; sprinkle with pecans.

TYLER FLORENCE'S ROASTED SWEET POTATO BANANA PUREE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and put them on a roasting pan. On another roasting pan prick bananas and lay out in a single layer. Roast sweet potatoes for 45 minutes until very soft and roast bananas for 25 minutes. Remove both pans from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
• In a small sauce pot heat cream with bay leaf until reduced by half, then keep warm until ready to puree potatoes and bananas.
• When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Add peeled bananas. Season with salt, add butter, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and puree until super smooth. Pour into an oven-proof gratin dish.
• Make the topping by combining flour, cold butter and brown sugar in the food processor and pulse until you have the texture of coarse bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the puree and place under the broiler until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes.
• TIPS.
• You can roast the potatoes and bananas ahead of time, then put it all together just before serving. Then heat it up in the oven.

SWEET POTATO PUREE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Peel and mash sweet potatoes. (I use a food mill for this.).
• In a large bowl, combine potatoes with butter, cream, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and 1/2 cup pecans, mixing until well blended.
• Pour mixture into a buttered 2 1/2 quart casserole; top with remaining pecans.
• Bake 30 minutes.
• Note: Puree may be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Be sure to bring to room temperature before baking.
• Additional note: To bake the sweet potatoes, pierce each potato 2-3 times with a paring knife, place directly on oven rack and bake at 350 degrees until done, about 50-60 minutes for large potatoes. Place a baking sheet on lower rack to catch drips. Allow to cool before handling. While the oven is on, toast the pecans. Spread out on a shallow pan and bake for about 10 minutes.

BOURBON SWEET-POTATO PURéE WITH BUTTERED PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and in a baking pan bake in middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour.
• When just cool enough to handle, peel potatoes and transfer half to a food processor. Add bourbon and 6 tablespoons butter and purée 30 seconds. Transfer purée to a large bowl. Purée remaining potatoes in food processor until completely smooth and transfer to bowl. Stir purée until combined well and season with salt and pepper. Transfer purée to a 2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish. Purée may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring purée to room temperature before proceeding.
• Reduce temperature to 325° F.
• In a shallow baking pan spread pecans in one layer and bake in middle of oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Toss hot pecans with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and coarse salt. Pecans may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Arrange pecans on top of purée and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake purée in upper third of oven until heated through and pecans are slightly browned, about 30 minutes.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH BROWN SUGAR AND PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix sugar, pecans and butter in small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Let stand in colander 15 minutes. Purée sweet potatoes in processor.
• Beat eggs, syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and salt in large bowl. Mix in puréed sweet potatoes. Transfer sweet potato mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle pecan topping evenly over mixture.
• Bake until sweet potato mixture is set and topping bubbles, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.

SWEET POTATO PUREE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil; cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain; puree in food processor.
• Add flavorings, if desired; puree. Maple-Butter: Add 2 tablespoons each melted butter and maple syrup. Serve puree with more butter and syrup. Orange-Ginger: Add 1/4 cup each milk and orange juice, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger. Lime-Cayenne: Add 1 tablespoon lime juice and a pinch of cayenne. Thin with a bit of cooking liquid, if needed.
• Season with salt and pepper; serve.

SWEET POTATO AND APRICOT PURéE WITH PECAN STREUSEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Prick potatoes and bake in middle of oven 1 1/2 hours, or until very soft. Scoop flesh into a bowl.
• In a saucepan cover apricots by 1 inch with cold water and simmer until soft, about 30 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons cooking liquid and drain apricots. In a food processor puree apricots with granulated sugar and reserved liquid until smooth.
• Add puree to potatoes with salt to taste and with an electric mixer beat until smooth. Spread mixture in a buttered 2-quart shallow baking dish. Puree may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
• In a small bowl blend with your fingers flour, brown sugar, butter, pecans, and salt to taste until combined well and crumble over puree. Bake puree in middle of oven until heated through and streusel is bubbling, about 15 minutes.

SWEET POTATO PUREE WITH BANANAS & BUTTERED PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour.
• Roast the bananas, with the skins on, for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.
• When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and bananas and transfer to a food processor.
• Pulse until the potatoes are chunky.
• Add the butter and maple syrup, puree until smooth.
• Add the cinnamon,pumpkin pie spice and salt; puree to combine.
• Transfer to a shallow baking pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula.
• In a skillet, cook the pecans in butter over low heat and sprinkle with salt.
• Saute until well-coated, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the pecans to paper towels to drain.
• Arrange pecans on top of puree and sprinkle with brown sugar.
• Bake at 300 until heated through, about 20 minutes.