Sweet Potato Pudding

A Splendidly Simple Sidedish

Here is an easy and elegant way to serve sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. Though we like to call it “pudding” there are very few ingredients required and there is no mixing involved. All you have to do is a little slicing, drizzling, sprinkling and baking.

For 4 people you will need approximately:

1 sweet potato

6 teaspoons of olive oil

3 teaspoons brown sugar

6 sprigs of thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange racks to accommodate the number of trays you will be using.

Slice as many sweet potatoes as you need for your number of guests (estimate 1-1/2 slices per person).

I like to cover my trays with silpats (available in Splendid Items) for easy clean-up. On the silpat (or tray) drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil in one corner. Drop sprig of thyme in the olive oil.

Lie a sweet potato slice on top of the olive oil and sprig. Continue these step until you have used all of your slices.

Slide the tray (s) into the oven and let them cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take out the potatoes and gently flip each slice over.

Top each of the slices with about 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle on a little cayenne pepper if you like spice.

Return to the oven and cook another 20 minutes or until they are slightly brown and caramelized.

I usually serve these with the peel on, while baking the peel softens and becomes quite edible. Also, the peel holds the soft potato together and makes it easier to serve.

If you don’t like the look of the peel, you can use a cookie cutter to cut out the tender center.

What a sweet little lump of pudding!

Platter up the potatoes, allowing some of the extra olive oil to drizzle onto the platter. Garnish with piles of fresh thyme. Cover the potatoes to keep them warm. They are delicious hot from the oven or at room temperature.