Sweetness Takes Root

By Austin Duck

Loved for their earthy-sweet creaminess and remarkable nutritional density, sweet potatoes are a favorite at holiday tables across the country. Packed with potassium, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and beta carotene, their unique lusciousness complements proteins beautifully, adds substance to even the simplest salad, and brightens any plate in taste and appeal.

These three recipes take sweet potatoes beyond brown sugar and marshmallows, using sous vide to impart stunning autumn flavors in unexpectedly delicious ways. Spanning cultures and courses, new takes and new techniques, they celebrate the sweet potato as the delicious, diverse powerhouse it truly is.

Pretzel-Crusted Sweet Potato Casserole

Who says soul food can’t also have style? This sweet potato casserole is familiar yet filled with surprising new flavors—a comfort-food classic reinvented through sous vide. Infused with the richness of butter and spices while cooking, the sweet potatoes themselves gain a craveably creamy complexity, offering a depth of flavor perfectly complemented by the crisp pretzel topping.

Sweet Potato Macarons

Given that the majority of the country’s sweet potatoes are grown in North Carolina, you might consider these “Parisian delicacies by way of the American South.” Can you imagine anything more indulgent? These tender macarons deliver a luxurious bite of fall, combining a spiced, sous vide sweet potato filling with edible gold leaf for a final flourish. Sure to impress and even surer to delight, they’re something every advanced cook (and lover of French patisseries) can really sink their teeth into.

Soy Ginger Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Asian flavors meet a healthy pour of bourbon in this highly refined take on meat and potatoes. Shaoxing wine and ginger blend with soy and honey to create a bright, spicy marinade for the pork while the comforting warmth of bourbon, butter, and brown sugar come together to create a rich, homey sweet potato mash. Complex enough to please any palate, and simple enough to prepare at any skill level, this dish is the perfect antidote to chilly evenings and early sunsets.