Forgotten Sweet Potato Pie

I brought our dinner ingredients to Hannah's today, intending to cook them at her house and bring home at five o'clock a ready-to-eat dinner  (spinach ricotta pie from the Moosewood Cookbook ).  Because it's just as easy to make two, I made an extra pie crust in case we needed it for lunch. 

The pre-heating oven seemed a little too aromatic, and I opened it to discover a pan of already-roasted sweet potatoes.  "Oh, I forgot about those last night!" said Hannah.  "They weren't done at dinner time, so we went ahead and ate, and I haven't thought about them since."

I suggested she boil them for stock, but then it occurred to me that we could make a pie out of them.  "Something eggy, with nutmeg, like a custard pie, but savory."  Hannah remembered a recipe for a savory custard from one of her cookbooks , and together we developed from it this recipe:

Savory Sweet Potato Pie

4                  sweet potatoes, roasted until very soft
4                 eggs, beaten
1/2  c.       cream (or milk)
2 T                minced onion
1/2  tsp     salt
1/4 tsp        cayenne
1  tsp             nutmeg (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp     freshly ground black pepper (or more to taste)
1                      unbaked, unsweetened pie crust

Arrange pie crust in Pyrex pie plate.  Remove sweet potatoes from skins and mash well.  Stir in eggs, onion, cream, salt, and spices.   Taste to correct seasoning; the black pepper should be noticeable.  Pour into pie shell and bake at 375 F for 20 minutes or more until lightly browned.

We knew this one was a winner as soon as we took a bite.  The kids liked it too.   The savory, slightly spicy, slightly sweet flavor would be nice with some yogurt on the side and a very simply dressed salad.

Comments

[Margaret in Minnesota]

Yummy! Thank you for sharing this.

[Heather]

Awesome! My husband wants to make savory sweet potato empanadas and this may do the trick.

[Tammy]

Excellent recipe, and so simple. Thanks.