Choosing The Right Sweet Potato Does Make A Difference In Recipes

Sweet potatoes flood the market this time of the year. Mistakenly, some are sold as yams - usually the copper-colored variety, which is elongated, often misshapen, with a moist, almost oily flesh that sometimes oozes a sweetish liquid when baked.

The cream-colored variety, correctly sold as sweet potatoes, looks more like a pinkish-yellow potato. Its flesh is drier, more like a white potato.

They are, in fact, both sweet potatoes. We rarely see yams - an entirely different botanical family - in North American markets.

Like their cousin, the white potato, you should know the appropriate type of sweet potato to use for your holiday menus. They cook so differently that both varieties can be served without redundancy. Here’s how to use them:

First off, both make a great potato soup. The copper-colored variety makes a more sultry soup, darker in color, sweeter in flavor, wanting to be garnished with a dollop of cranberry sauce. The cream-colored variety is more savory, more potato-like. I highlight its earthy flavor by adding leeks and finishing the soup with sour cream.

Now, the differences. The cream-colored variety is the choice for mashing if you want a light, airy dish. Boil them in their jackets so they don’t become soggy, then peel and mash together with butter and milk. Season with salt and white pepper and a discreet pinch of nutmeg.

The cream-colored variety is also the sweet potato of choice for preparing Sweet Potato Galettes, or pancakes (see recipe below). They hold together better and soak up less butter during cooking.

This also is the type of sweet potato to roast in the pan alongside your turkey or ham. And, lacking the sweetness of the copper-colored variety, they are wonderful in a rich gratin, laden with blue cheese and spiked with onions and garlic.

The copper-colored variety is sweeter, and when cooled, almost syrupy in texture. To maximize their charm, they should be baked before using in any preparation. To serve them most simply, bake them in their jackets and serve them with nothing other than butter. It’s a completely different baked sweet potato than its yellow cousin.

And we all know that they make a great mashed dish - a sweet accompaniment to the holiday meal, an over-the-top delight laden with marshmallows. Bake them in their jackets, scoop out the flesh and mix them with butter and cream. (You want them to be heavy.) Toss in some marshmallows, scoop into a casserole and bake in the oven.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

After blanching potatoes, they may be cooked by themselves or roasted in the pan with your turkey, ham or whatever.

1-3/4 pounds light yellow sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

Halve potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 1-inch-thick chunks. Place chunks in pan just large enough to hold them and cover with cold water. Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Drain immediately.

Place potatoes in mixing bowl and toss to coat evenly with melted butter, salt, pepper and sage. Transfer to baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees, uncovered, 1 hour or until tender, tossing them every 20 minutes. Transfer to serving dish.

Yield: 4 servings.

Gratineed Sweet Potatoes

4 cups very thinly sliced light yellow potatoes

1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup whipping cream

Dash ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Toss together potatoes, onion, melted butter, cream, nutmeg, pepper, salt and 1/4 cup cheese. Transfer to ovenproof casserole and cover tightly.

Bake at 375 degrees 30 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over top. Bake 20 minutes longer.

Yield: 4 servings.

Potato Galettes

Those sweet potato pancakes may be prepared in advance and reheated in the oven before serving.

1 medium light yellow sweet potato (about 1 pound)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup sour cream

Wash but don’t peel sweet potato and shred it on fine blade of shredder or food processor. Place in mixing bowl. Toss with onion, pepper and salt.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in nonstick 6-inch skillet over medium heat. Add 1/4 of potato mixture. Cook about 4 minutes, pressing down gently to compact potatoes as they cook. Flip cake and cook another 5 minutes, adding more butter if necessary.

Repeat with remaining mixture, adding butter as needed. As each cake is done, transfer to platter and keep warm in 250-degree oven.

Arrange galettes on platter. Garnish with dollops of sour cream and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Savory Puree of Sweet Potato Soup

1 tablespoon flavorless cooking oil

1 large leek, light part only, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

6 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth, water or a mixture

1-1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely diced (about 3 cups)

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

4 heaping tablespoons sour cream

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add leek and saute, stirring, 5 minutes. Add stock, sweet potatoes, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Increase heat to high. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Puree soup in batches in blender or food processor. Return pureed soup to pan. Cover and reheat over low heat.

To serve, place dollop of sour cream in bottom of each soup bowl. Transfer piping hot soup to tureen or pitcher and ladle into individual bowls at the table.

Yield: 5 to 6 servings.