Thanksgiving Recipe: Sweetpotato Casserole with Pineapple and Bourbon
This recipe from Saveur is a nice twist on the typical marshmallow-laden casseroles. Instead of ooey-gooey ‘mallows, the spiced sweetpotato puree is topped with a light meringue and browned in the broiler until golden. The beauty of this switch is that you can control how sweet the fluffy white topping is and still get that toasty casserole look. The puree calls for pineapple and bourbon, which sounds beautiful to me, but you can always omit these if you want to stick to basics.
Sweetpotato Casserole with Pineapple and Bourbon
INGREDIENTS
- 5½ lb. sweetpotatoes
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. ground allspice
- ½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 egg whites
1. Heat oven to 350°. Place potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet; bake until tender, about 1-1/2 hours. Peel and transfer to a food processor along with brown sugar, bourbon, butter, 1 tsp. salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, pepper, eggs, and pineapple; puree. Transfer to a 9″ x 13″ baking dish; bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.
2. While casserole bakes, bring sugar, and ¼ cup water to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over high heat; attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, and cook, without stirring, until syrup reaches 250°. Meanwhile, place remaining salt, vanilla, and egg whites in a large bowl; beat on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until soft peaks form. While beating, slowly drizzle in hot syrup, and beat until meringue is thickened and cooled.
3. Heat broiler to high. Spread meringue over casserole; broil until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.