Sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to be a very American dish to me. We didn’t grow up with this tradition in Australia.
I see lots of recipes online that include marshmallow, maple syrup and lots of sugar! Which I have never been tempted to try.
A couple of years ago, I made my American husband an approximation of a Thanksgiving dinner here in the UK, and I happened upon a recipe online that caught my attention. Sweet potato, cashews, nuts and rosemary. Well that’s right up my street…….. and it was delicious!
Since then, I have refined the recipe a little, and it’s now a firm family favourite that I look forward to every year at Christmas.
Ingredients:
-
- 1 cup cashews, soaked in water for an hour and then drained
- 1 inch ginger root
- 1 medjool date
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 4 Large Sweet Potatoes
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup dried fruit – try blueberries or cranberries
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1/2 cup of water or fresh orange juice
Directions:
Place the washed sweet potatoes on a tray, and bake whole for 1 hour on 180 degrees C. Turn off the oven after 1 hour but leave the potatoes in for an extra 30 minutes. They will be done when the flesh has pulled away from the skin o the inside of the potato.
Cool completely.
While the potatoes are cooling, make a cashew cream by blending the cashews, date, ginger and half of the lemon juice until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of water or fresh orange juice to make a smooth consistency, and add more water if needed.
Once the sweet potato is cooled, mix it together with the cashew cream, dried fruit and the remaining lemon juice and scooop that mixture into a baking dish.
Using a knife, chop the pecans and mix together with fresh rosemary leaves and ½ tsp sea salt until finely combined. Top the sweet potato mix with the pecan and rosemary, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pecans are a golden brown.
Serve and enjoy!
Original Recipe here:
Robyn Puglia
Robyn is a Clinical Nutritionist with a specialised interest in the Functional Medicine approach to health. Robyn is very involved with the field of Coeliac Disease, Gluten-Reactive Disorders and Autoimmune Disease. Her passion for the healing power of food, has led her to work with complex cases, involving multiple diagnoses, and chronic health issues such as ME, auto-immune diseases and fibromyalgia. She also has a passion for working with the growing tide of chronic, lifestyle mediated illness; diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, and runs a lifestyle intervention clinic for these issues. Robyn works with patients to nutritionally support their bodies, so that they can heal. She has successfully helped many people around the world improve their health and increase their quality of life. Robyn sees clients in London, Tokyo and New York, and has a virtual practice that allows her to work with people all over the world.
