Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sage, Brown Butter, and Gruyere


As I mentioned in my post for Sweet Potato & Marshmallow Bars, I really love sweet potatoes, but I think that sweet potato dishes often fall into the sweet/dessert sector.  Not these.  These twice-baked sweet potatoes have just a hint of sweetness, but they are most definitely savory.  And that's definitely a good thing - sage, brown butter, and gruyere.  mmmmm.  I know you probably already have your Thanksgiving menu planned out, but if you are still looking for a side dish to replace sweet potato casserole, this would be a great choice.  Especially if you are planning dinner for just a few people - you don't have to make a huge casserole, and everyone gets their own individual portion.

These potatoes were kind of an experiment, but they were so delicious.  I made these for lunch one day thinking that I'd eat one half potato that day, and save the other one for the next day.  Well, I ended up eating both.  Oink oink! 

I loved the combination of the crunchy breadcrumb topping with the creamy potatoes, the savory sage and breadcrumbs mixed with the sweetness of the filling, and the richness from the Gruyere.  Everything is better with Gruyere, right?   

This is a great side dish to pretty much any meat, but it is great on it's own as well.  Served with a side salad, this would make a wonderful light fall or winter dinner.




Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sage, Brown Butter, and Gruyere
Pink Parsley Original, topping inspired by Martha Stewart
  • 2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed 
  • 4 Tbs unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, still somewhat chunky
  • 4 tsp chopped fresh sage, divided
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs grated Gruyere cheese
  • 2 tsp maple syrup
  • 2 Tbs sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • pinch cayenne pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Pierce the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork, and place on a baking sheet.  Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are cooked through and tender to the touch.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool until they are cool enough to handle.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise, and carefully scoop out the filling and add to a medium bowl.  You don't want to scoop out all of it, since the skins are pretty thin, but aim to scoop out 90% or so. 

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, whisking constantly.  When it reaches a deep golden-brown color and has dark brown specks in it, remove from heat immediately.

In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of the butter, 2 teaspoons of the sage, 2 tablespoons of sage, and salt and pepper to taste. 

Using a fork, mash the sweet potato filling until it's smooth.  Add the remaining brown butter, sage, Gruyere, the maple syrup, cayenne, and Greek yogurt.  Mix well to combine.  Divide the filling among the potato skins.  Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the potatoes.

Return to the oven and cook about 15 minutes, or until the filling is heated through and the breadcrumbs are turning light golden-brown.  Serve.


18 comments:

Cate said...

These are beautiful, and full of things that I LOVE!

Anonymous said...

anything with gruyere is delicious, but this combo sounds phenomenal!

kyleen said...

You had me at twice-baked. The bread crumbs, the brown butter, the sage, the gruyere; sounds so delicious!

nicole {sweet peony} said...

josie, these look awesome! i love twice-baked potatoes but have never done them with sweet potatoes. i'm definitely going to give these a try :) happy thanksgiving!!

oh and sorry, but GO DAWGS! but before you hate me, my dad is a tech alum :)

Unknown said...

those look like perfection!

Made in Sonoma said...

These have perfect fall flavors. Yum!

Josie said...

haha Nicole, both of my parents went to UGA - I'm the black sheep for going to GT :-)
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Stefanie said...

These look delicious! Love gruyere, and sage, and put it all together with sweet potatoes and it sounds just divine!!

Anonymous said...

This looks so good! Much better than the traditional sweet casserole. Great recipe.

Sue/the view from great island said...

I knew right from the title that I would love these. This is just the kind of thing I would love for dinner...all it needs is a glass of wine ;)

Anonymous said...

These sound soooo freaking yummy!

Sunflour said...

I set out to make these tonight, but the potato skins collapsed. Definitely need to heed your warning a little more! So, I turned the dish into mashed sweet potatoes. Still mixed in everything, topped it with the bread crumbs, and finished it in the oven. My family and I loved it. I especially appreciate a fresh take on the sweet potato. Thanks for a really excellent recipe!

Koko said...

OH man these look SO good and semi-healthy :)

Sara {HomeIsWhereTheCookiesAre.com} said...

um, yum??? I have been looking for a not-as-sweet, yet still delicious way to serve sweet potatoes. . . . Looks fantastic!

LadyJayPee said...

In the directions, there is a little typo about adding 2tsp of the sage, followed by 2T of the sage. Not sure if you meant to add something else then, or just double-typed the same ingredient. I want to make these today. Thanks!

Josie said...

LadyJayPee, it should be 2 tsp of sage and 2 Tbs of Gruyere. Sorry I'm just now responding, but hopefully you were able to figure it out and you enjoyed the potatoes! :-)
Josie

Josie said...

Sunflour,
Sorry about the skins, but I'm glad you were able to improvise and still enjoyed them! :-)

Melanie @ The Sweet Life said...

sweet potatoes...favorite veg
fresh sage...favorite herb
Gruyere...FAVORITE cheese
brown butter...favorite form of butter

..I'm basically dying over these.

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