un-american sweet potato pie recipe September 17, 2006

After searching the internet for a decent sweet potato pie recipe and finding only american-style over-sweetened recipes stuffed with cranberries or marshmallows, I ended up using a combination of an old favourite and my own instincts. The pastry is from Alison Holst, and the thing turned out fabulously well, and reheated the day after well, and two days later just as well. Here’s the recipe:

Pastry:

• Fit food processor with metal cutting blade. Add 1 cup flour and add 60-70g cold butter cut into pieces. Acidify 1/4 cup cold water with 1-2 tsp lemon juice. Using pulse button, add water in thin stream while butter is chopped into the flour
• Roll pastry out and line tart pan or whatever else you have that’s the right size

Filling:

• Roast two large sweet potatoes for about 40 minutes; mash (not too thoroughly)
• Fry chopped onion until dark and soft
• Mix together:
  3 eggs
  1/2 cup soft white cheese/quark/cream cheese/sour cream
  1/4 cup milk
  1 1/2 cups grated cheese
  salt, pepper, nutmeg
• Add the cooled sweet potatoes and onions to the milky mixture, pour into pastry shell
• Bake for 20 minutes at 220C, then for 10 minutes at 180C, if necessary to set the filling