Posted on March 22, 2016

Sweet Potato Puff With Crunchy Pecan Topping

For this year’s Easter ham dinner, we’ve created a slightly lighter version of a Southern favorite: Sweet Potato Casserole. Since sweet potatoes are sweet by nature, we’ve used less sugar than you’ll find in more traditional versions, but we think you’ll agree that this casserole delivers all the flavors you want from a classic comfort food side dish. Plus, you can combine all the ingredients a day in advance to make hosting Easter dinner just a little bit easier.

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Ingredients

  • 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed (about 5 C)
  • 2 T soft butter
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt flakes
  • 1 T white sugar
  • 2 T soft butter
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ C pecan pieces
  • 2 T brown sugar
  • 2 T panko bread crumbs
  • 2 T white flour
  • 2 T melted butter

Preparation

  1. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into cubes and place in a pot. Cover with water and boil until the sweet potato chunks are soft and will mash easily (about 20 – 25 minutes).
  2. Drain sweet potatoes, add the soft butter, and mash. When completely smooth with no lumps, add the beaten eggs, white sugar, salt flakes, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
  3. Coat casserole dish with a light spray of oil. Mound the sweet potato mixture into the dish and even the top with a spatula.
  4. In a separate bowl mix the pecan pieces, brown sugar, panko bread crumbs and white flour. Drizzle the melted butter over top while mixing everything together until a nice crumble forms. At this point the sweet potato mixture and the crumble can be covered and refrigerated separately until ready for assembly the next day.
  5. When you are ready to bake the casserole, sprinkle the pecan crumble evenly over the top and place the dish on the lower rack of the pre-heated Memphis Pellet Grill (350 F). Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the sweet potato puffs up a bit and the topping is nicely browned. There should be room on the grate right next to the almost finished ham!