Foodie Friday frees you from that mushed-up sweet potato casserole with the mini marshmallows on top with a more sophisticated but super-easy "Yammy" alternative!

Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
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Sweet and Savory Scalloped Sweet Potatoes (prep. time about 1 hour.  Serves at least 12.)

1 large sweet potatoes (yams) peeled in sliced into ¼” discs

½ stick unsalted butter

½ small onion, diced (about ¼ C.)

2 Tb. flour

1 tsp. salt

Ground black pepper

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. dried rosemary

2 C. milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tb. maple syrup.

Par-boil sweet potatoes about 2 minutes until just starting to become tender.  Drain in colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.  While potatoes cool, melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Saute diced onions.  When onions are tender, whisk in flour to form a paste (roux) and cook for 2-4 minutes to make a blonde roux (slightly golden. You can go darker brown for a deeper, nuttier flavor if you prefer).  Slowly whisk in milk. Add rosemary, salt, pepper and nutmeg, As milk warms, stir in condensed milk and maple syrup.  Taste and add salt and/or pepper (or even more maple syrup for a bigger maple flavor) if needed.  Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring constantly until it thickens.  Remove from heat.  Pre-heat oven to 365.  Spray a large rectangle cake pan or casserole dish with cooking spray. Arrange a single layer of sliced potatoes (or try to be fancy and stack them in rows like poker chips.)  If doing a flat layered casserole, pour half the sauce over top, layer more potatoes on top and top with remaining sauce.  If you try the fancy vertical version, you’ll have to fuss a bit to separate the slices so the sauce seeps down evenly between them.   Make sure you have the top of the potatoes covered with sauce.  Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbling, potatoes are tender and sauce is a little brown on top.

You can make the whole thing in advance up to the point of baking, cover with aluminum foil and set aside for a day or more before baking for 30-40 minutes.  Leftovers re-heat really well in the microwave.

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