Brown Butter & Sage Whipped Sweet Potatoes

This savoury sweet potato dish is loaded with classic autumn flavours. Honestly, it might be one of my all time favourite side dishes to make for Thanksgiving. Roasting the sweet potatoes can take a little extra time & effort, but I promise you the additional flavour it yields is worth it. Plus, this dish can be prepped up to 48 hours in advance & baked just before serving. So you’ll still have plenty of time to get the turkey & stuffing ready!

Brown butter has become increasingly popular over the last few years, in both sweet & savoury dishes. For good reason! It adds a toasted nutty flavour to the dish. For this recipe I also infuse the brown butter with fresh sage & shallots, which become perfectly crispy for the bread crumb topping.

Do not use store-bought bread crumbs for this dish (not even panko), as it needs a very textured crumb to yield the correct consistency. Be sure to use a crusty bread like sourdough, calabrese or even a french baguette. Who doesn’t love a buttery bread crumb topping?

To get a perfectly smooth & silky whipped sweet potato, I use an immersion blender. This gives the dish the fluffiest & creamiest texture. I suggest doing this step while the sweet potatoes are still a bit warm, so they blend in with the cream easily.

Happy Thanksgiving & all things cozy fall!

Brown Butter & Sage Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 6 medium sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated gruyere cheese
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350(f) degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil & place sweet potatoes cut side down. Prick each potato with a fork to allow steam to escape. Roast for 1 1/2 hours. Set aside to let cool slightly.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat add sage, shallots & butter. Stirring constantly, heat until the butter begins to foam & brown. Remove from heat.
3. To a large mixing bowl add the sweet potato flesh (no skins), half the browned butter, garlic, cream, egg, cheese, salt & pepper. Puree using an immersion blender until fluffy & smooth.
4. To the remaining butter, shallots & sage mixture, add the breadcrumbs. Toss until well coated. Season generously with salt & pepper.
5. Transfer the potatos to a shallow baking dish & sprinkle with an even layer of the bread crumbs.
6. Bake at 400(f) degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.