Sweet potatoes and pecans are the stars this season
One of my first adventures when I moved to Louisiana in 2016 was volunteering at Edible Schoolyard New Orleans’ Sweet Potato Festival at Arthur Ashe Charter School. The October event featured costumed children parading through the neighborhood performing every imaginable art ensemble—dancing, roller skating, hula-hooping, all accompanied by their schoolmate jazz musicians complete with brass, wind and drum sections.
Discovering a festival focused on the power of a school garden was pivotal. It was the moment I realized that Louisiana was made for me. When we circled back to campus, the students took turns harvesting a crop they had planted in the spring. Beneath an emerald sea of leafy greens, they uprooted handfuls of dirt-cloaked sweet potatoes. Their glee is still audible. The harvest was divided into old-school lunch bags for take-home treasure, offering a myriad of possibilities for their home kitchens.
Ahead of this school garden haul, parents and teachers concocted a spree of delicacies with the festival’s namesake. A creamy soup with a spicy accent, ribbons of green kale, half moons of Cajun sausage and a sprinkle of crunchy pecans so good I had seconds on a brisk fall morning. If you told five-year-old me that I would sing the praises of sweet potatoes in a glossy magazine, I would have called it fantasy. For the majority of my life, the popular orange veggie was one of my “no, thank you” foods. In my youth, it was more like “absolutely not.”
Now that I am wiser, I look for ways to feature these local beauties in every menu I create, and it follows my advice that every vegetable deserves a second (sometimes third, fourth, etc.) chance. I also love knowing sweet potato is an endearing term, along with pecan, the precious nickname of my friend Nathan’s baby boy. These Louisiana staples are the sweetest duet of the season, and it’s fun to reminisce on that moment I fell in love.
With no dancing or musical talent to my name, I enjoy parading through the local markets and marveling at baskets of local pecans in shells and sweet potatoes in every shape and size. Some are quarterback worthy, and I will toss them into my bag to make elegant roasted sweet potato wedges, a delicious eat-with-your-fingers side for Friendsgiving or any occasion, really. These are the dressed-up cousin of sweet potato fries, seasoned with herbs and a drizzle of hot honey. The versatile vegetable stars equally as well in a dessert. Wrapped in foil and roasted in their jackets until fork tender, they become a creamy puree that gets a kiss of sweetness with a splash or two of cane syrup and dark rum, all folded together with freshly whipped cream. Layered with the crunch of toasted spiced pecans, it’s a finale fit for the holidays.
Spiced pecans also feature as a topping for a warm cheese dip that’s a festive party starter served with apple slices or crostini. And there you have it, a duo of multi-talented local ingredients starring across the menu. I still need to crack the code on the luscious soup I savored at the Sweet Potato Festival so many years ago, the dish that made me fall in love.
Sweet Potato Mousse with Spiced Pecan Crunch
Accented with a kiss of cane syrup and dark rum, this lovely fall dessert can be made up to five days ahead.
3 (about 1½ lb.) sweet potatoes scrubbed and pricked all over with a fork
2 to 3 Tbsp. cane syrup
2 to 3 Tbsp. dark rum or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 cup spiced pecans (recipe follows), very finely chopped or minced in food processor
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and roast until soft, about 60 to 70 minutes.
Unwrap and let cool until they can be handled. Scoop out potato into container of food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Add cane syrup and rum and blend again. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. When completely cool, fold in cream.
Layer mousse into 12 dessert glasses, layering with a bit of the pecan crunch, and serve without hesitation.
To prepare in advance, the mousse can be made up to 5 days ahead. Then, build the parfaits just before serving.
Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Hot Honey
Sweet potatoes are a perfect canvas for spice, and a sprinkle of smoked salt is a nice addition, too.
1 large sweet potato cut into long wedges
1½ Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. Creole seasoning
¼ tsp. smoked salt (optional)
½ tsp. dried thyme
Drizzle of hot honey
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place sweet potato wedges in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, Creole seasoning, smoked salt, if using, and dried thyme. Lay out in a single layer on baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes; turn with tongs and continue roasting until golden and fork tender. Drizzle with a bit of hot honey and serve hot or warm.
One large sweet potato makes 3-4 servings. Scale up accordingly.
Warm Cheese Dip with Spiced Pecans
Cream cheese and white cheddar melt together beautifully for this all-occasion party starter that can be made a day ahead and popped in the oven a half hour before serving.
8 oz. cream cheese, slightly softened
4 oz. (1 cup) grated sharp white cheddar (grate your own, as pre-grated does not melt well)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ tsp. cayenne
½ cup spiced pecans (recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese and grated cheddar in a medium mixing bowl and mash together with wooden spoon or spatula until combined. Add green onions and cayenne and mix again. Transfer mixture to a small baking dish and top with pecans. Bake until bubbly around edges, about 25 minutes. Serve with apple slices, crackers or crostini.
Spiced Pecans
Roasted with a pinch of sugar and spice, the versatile pecan makes a delicious accent for the cheese dip, handheld snack or blended into a crunchy topping for the sweet potato mousse.
2 cups pecans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 heaping tsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. coarse salt
½ tsp. pie spice
¼ tsp. cayenne
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pecans in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, brown sugar, salt, pie spice and cayenne. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and roast until a shade darker and aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
