Regular sweet potato or the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato (murasaki imo), I was literally standing in front of these two options at the supermarket for a minute. Both can yield a sweet and smooth casserole for my little afternoon treat. What persuaded me in the end is that there was this one chunky sweet potato, just the right size, and that means I only need to peel this one single sweet potato only instead of many smaller purple variety.
Mini sweet potato casserole topped with shredded cheese -
Ingredients (for 2 big or 4 small servings)?
- 560 grams sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 to 4 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 100 grams shredded cheese (mozzarella and Cheddar preferred)
How?
Peel and slice the sweet potato into chunks.
Steam the sweet potato till fork tender. Mine took about 30 minutes.
Once ready, use a fork to mash the steamed sweet potato, just like what you'd do with mashed potato.
After this first round of mashing, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, 2 teaspoon of sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Also start with 2 teaspoons of heavy whipping cream and mash till evenly blended with the sweet potato.
Check the consistency, if seemed too thick, blend in more heavy whipping cream, up to 4 teaspoons total. Also do a quick taste test and see if more sugar is needed for your preference. Once all set, mash again through a wire sieve if not too troublesome. This will give you an even smoother texture in the end.
Spread the sweet potato paste to ramekins, filled up to 80% full then top the remaining space with shredded cheese.
Into the oven and switch to high heat. Bake till the cheese has been melted and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve right away.
So on top of my initial hesitation between the regular sweet potato and the fancy Japanese purple sweet potato, I also had a hard time picking shredded cheese. My best choice would be mozzarella and Cheddar blend. However, I also have to look closer to the label and trying to get the most natural product as possible.
That left me with only one option, shredded mozzarella. Even though milky and satisfying, but I definitely think with additional salty Cheddar, the sweetness from the sweet potato will become more pronounced. So it's up to you, I would still choose whatever healthier product as possible. Just keep in mind that if you can find great mozzarella and Cheddar blend, that's the way to go.
Savory way to enjoy sweet potato: