SIDES & SALADS
TESTER’S COMMENTS
Who knew that these two garden greats paired so well? Roasting the garlic mellows and sweetens it, and then the jam-like consistency of the garlic cloves enlivens the sweet potatoes.
–D.T.
2 |
large sweet potatoes, washed |
1 |
tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling sweet potatoes |
1 |
head garlic |
¼ |
cup (½ stick) butter |
|
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork and oil the skins. Place in roasting pan.
Cut top off garlic head. Place in garlic roaster or on aluminum foil. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil on garlic. Cover roaster or wrap up foil.
Bake sweet potatoes and garlic for about 1 hour, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Peel, then cut up sweet potatoes.
Push garlic out of skins. Add to sweet potatoes, with butter. Mash until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
Makes 6 servings.
Almanac favorite
Yams and sweet potatoes often cause confusion. True yams are from the plant family Dioscoreaceae. They are huge tubers with rough, scaly skin, grown mostly in West Africa and tropical Asia. Sweet potatoes, from the morning glory family, are not tubers but fleshy roots native to Central and South America. Depending on the variety, they can have dry or moist flesh in colors ranging from white to yellow, orange, red, and even purple.