Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Brown Sugar and Pecans

This appeared in the Bon Appétit R.S.V.P. section in November 1998, it's a recipe from The Olde Union House in Red Bank NJ.  I don't think I've made a recipe from the R.S.V.P. section that I didn't enjoy, but this one really stands out.  The recipe calls to drain the sweet potatoes in a colander after cooking, but I usually just drain the water from the pot (carefully - with mitts and the lid) and let them cool there. Then I mash them right in the pot and use that as my mixing bowl - it saves myself from extra cleanup!

Serves 12 to 14

Ingredients:

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

5 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

4 large eggs
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish.  

 Mix sugar, pecans and butter in small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 12 minutes.  Drain. Let stand in colander 15 minutes.  Purée sweet potatoes in processor or by hand.  Add eggs, syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and salt.  Transfer mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle pecan topping evenly over mixture.

Bake until sweet potato mixture is set and topping bubbles, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.