Noble Pig

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Scalloped Sweet Potatoes in Lemon-Ginger Cream Sauce


Some food is pretty.  Some food is pretty ugly.  But what’s even more interesting is how good the ugly food usually tastes.  I suppose it’s because the food becomes ugly when smothered or slathered in some kind of sauce, rendering it unrecognizable to the eater.  This dish is no exception.

I have always thought of the sweet potato as the ugly stepsister to the regular baking potato.  The regular potato has a nice oval shape with sleek, rounded lines.  While the sweet potato looks like some underground crazy tuber on steroids that twists and tortures itself through the soil as it grows.  What goes on under the dirt, I have no idea.

However, you know what they say, “you’re beautiful on the inside”.  And there is no doubt the sweet potato is one of the tastiest tubers around.

I never would have put these flavors together but somehow they are the perfect custardy match.  These flavors intertwine to make one of the best scalloped potato tastes I have ever had.

Let’s whip it up together shall we…


Here is what you’ll need:  Sweet Potatoes (or yams), heavy cream, granulated sugar, fresh ginger, fresh lemon juice and salt.


I used a mandolin to slice 2-1/2 pounds (8 cups) of sweet potatoes very thin. 


To a large pot add 3 cups heavy cream, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger and 2 teaspoons salt.

Cook over high heat until reduced to about 2 cups of liquid, about 15 minutes.  You will need to stir constantly otherwise it will burn.  When done the mixture will be thick and somewhat custardy-like.


Stir the sweet potatoes into the cream mixture, coating each and every slice with the cream.  Okay, you don’t have to get that crazy but you get the idea.


Ladle sweet potato-cream mixture into six individual creme brulee dishes or one shallow 2-quart casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 


Let rest 15 minutes before serving.


Seriously, this is so good.  Not so pretty, but soooooooo good.  I never thought a potato custard would have this effect on me.  But then again what would you expect from a Potato Ho.

Print Recipe

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes In Lemon-Ginger Cream Sauce

Recipe from: | Serves: 8

Ingredients

  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely minced or use a microplane grater
  • 2 teaspoons table salt
  • 2-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (or yams) peeled, thinly sliced

Directions

  • Boil heavy cream, lemon juice, sugar, ginger and salt in a large pan on high heat. Stir constantly for 15 minutes, reducing to about 2 cups of liquid.
  • Stir sweet potatoes into cream mixture and transfer to six individual creme brulee dishes or one 2-quart casserole dish.
  • Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

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Comments

  2. this would feed a small army, or alternately, me. you’d think i’d be put off my the copious cream, but it just makes me want it more. if you gave me permission to use cinnamon instead of ginger, i’d probably have a new favorite side dish. 🙂

    Reply

  3. Aw these are ever so pretty Cathy…I think they’re Cinderella potatoes. With that much cream & lemon & ginger within, I think these rock! I didnt know you did recipes…how nice!!

    Reply

  5. I think ugly food tastes better because it can focus all it’s energy on being delicious. It doesn’t have to worry about things like presentation or appearance. It can look like mud stuck to your shoe dragged in something unmentionable and it still knows you’re going to clear your plate, go back for seconds and be sneaking some at midnight.

    But your potato dish is still pretty. At least to me! But I bet it tastes just as good as ugly ugly food.

    Reply

  6. I just knew you would come up with the perfect potato recipe for this Ho Down. Such simple ingredients. I just happen to have all these ingredients on hand. I am going to try it. Hey, oatmeal is not all that pretty either, but tastes so good in the mornings!

    Reply

  10. Yum, it sounds sooo good, but mighty decadent!

    I’m cracking up because I whipped up a sweet potato dish a couple of days ago that I was going to use for the hodown, but it wasn’t a pretty dish so I couldn’t take a decent looking picture for the life of me! (Delicious though!)

    Now I’m working on potato plan B. 😉

    Reply

  11. omg I have tried this 3 times now!! I love the sweet potato recipe, it’s not easy to find different ways to make sweet potatoes. I have an entry for the Potato Ho down!

    Reply

  14. Again, I come here first before I do anything else, like check mail and horoscopes….I have two words for you…

    simply divine! (ok and an added exclamation mark)
    😛

    ps said via “Joey MacGuire movie”

    “You had me at heavy cream”

    Reply

  15. oops I meant to type jerry macguire….but you knew that already…see what happens when I start to drool over your photos, I forget all conscienceness and create typos…lol

    Reply

  16. There’s a tear in my eye!!! These are the forgotten potato. My favorite! I love them with just plain butter… but HEAVY CREAM? Potatoes and Lemons and Cream… Oh My! Thanks Cathy… I’m making this tonight!

    Reply

  17. Gawd Cathy…just when I think you’ve posted the best recipe yet you come up with something even better. I love sweet potatoes and this looks so good I could cry. I’m definitely making these!

    Reply

  20. First, I think the dish looks pretty. I love bright colored foods, though. My mother in law grew sweet potatoes this summer, so we’ve been looking for ways to cook them. We’ve used them as they have grown and, with those that I couldn’t cook in time, I pureed to put in spaghetti sauce or sloppy joes.

    Also, I freakin’ the Potato Ho graphic, especially the “Tell Me About It, Spud!”
    Love it!

    Reply

  22. Those look fantastic!!! What are you talking about?!?! Mmmmm…. maybe it’s my obsession with the sweet potato that makes all sweet potato dishes, no matter how un-aesthetically appealing to others, looks GREAT to me! You’ve inspired my own ho-down entry… I said it out loud so I can’t get lazy and back out.

    Reply

  23. Looks good to me momma. Love the little background story on the potato story and how it got started, never knew that. I eat a lot of sweet potatoes fries with spicy chipotle sour cream. You married a great mix of flavors here for sure.

    Reply

  28. Seeing as how you’ve not yet led my taste buds astray, I will trust you on this one and try it out. I’ve never been a fan of the sweet potato, but I am trying to learn to love her. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply

  34. Well, let’s face it, not all food is gorgeous to photograph but the taste more than makes up for it. I think they turned out great, especially that last photo. They look delicious as well. You really have some great ideas!

    Reply

  35. I absolutely love sweet potatoes: These have such a glam presentation and what sounds like a tangy-sweet twist. Maybe this one’ll get my hubby to join me in eating sweet potatoes!

    Reply

  36. The picture is simply divine! We have a brew pub fairly near by with the BEST beer battered yam fries, and if I can’t visit there, perhaps this will satisfy my craving while at home.

    Reply

  37. Ho time again – Yippee!! I just discovered sweet potatoes in the past couple years – Do not know why it took me so long?? Ugly never bothered me as long as it tasted good I was good to go. Yours looks so yummy and I am sure the taste is the exact same –

    Reply

  50. This is awesome! Seriously, incredibly good looking.. well not looking, but tasting. I can imagine it being anything less than perfect tasting. Okay, I’m starting to not make sense. this looks great. Let’s leave it at that.

    I need to get moving on my POTATO HO entry!

    Reply

  52. I love sweet potatoes. love ’em, love ’em! I can’t wait to try this recipe. You can never, never delete this blog — I have too many recipes to write down for keeps. Looks so YUMMY! Maybe for Thanksgiving this year … : )

    Reply

  57. Oh girl – you have made my day – I adore sweet potatoes and can’t wait to try this. Is it illegal to try a ho-down recipe before the date of the actual ho-down?

    Reply

  61. Not generally a huge fan of the sweet sweet potato recipes. But, this one is intriguing… and not even close to ugly 🙂 Who can resist a bright colored tuber??

    Reply

  64. I’m loving orange right now, so this has my eye. Goodness that’s a lot of heavy cream. I can hear my arteries hardening as I type…I do happen to have brought home some sweet potatoes today, though…

    Reply

  73. I just wanted to let you know that I cooked these last night and OMFG they are spectacular. Even my friends who swore they didn’t like sweet potatoes nor scalloped taters LOVED them. I was hoping for left overs, but there is none.

    Reply

  75. What if you creamed together a combination of soft soy curd with soy milk so that you had the thicker texture of cream? I was thinking something similar as I cannot eat dairy. this recipe sure does sound good though.

    Reply

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