Elevate traditional mashed potatoes this winter by making these Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Brown Butter. Featuring white sweet potatoes, fresh herbs, garlic brown butter, creme fraiche, and lots of cheese. This dish is so flavorful and sure to please everyone at the holiday dinner table.
Happy Sunday!
As many of up gear up for what will be a very different holiday season, I wanted to start rolling out some holiday dinner ideas. First up is this wonderful side dish featuring sweet potatoes.
What kind of sweet potato should I use for this dish?
I’ve said this before, but Jamaican sweet potatoes are different from the sweet potatoes most Americans think of. Ours are more akin to Japanese white sweet potatoes, which are firmer, have a red flesh, and are white on the inside. I used white sweet potatoes for this dish because they have a great texture that is very similar to a russet potato when you mash them up. Plus they are not as sweet as a traditional orange sweet potato, making them perfect for a savory dish like this. Funny enough, when you boil them, these potatoes turn slightly yellow. The first step is to boil the sweet potatoes in salted water until they are cooked through. I kept the skin on my potatoes for a more rustic mash.
Feel free to use regular sweet potatoes, but do not overcook them, or the sweet potatoes will become too soft and will turn to mush when you mash them.
Now about that brown butter…
I only recently learned about the heaven on earth that is brown butter, and I’m trying to make up for lost time by putting it on everything I can imagine.
Brown butter is so easy to make, you simply cook butter on the stove until the foams and starts to brown. The result is almost like a caramelized liquid butter that you can pour over any dish. Here, I added chopped garlic to the brown butter, and allowed the garlic to crisp up so that when we mix the butter and garlic in with the mashed potatoes, you get little crunchy bits of garlic. Yum!
And finally, we mash!
Once the sweet potato and brown butter are ready, all that’s left is to put everything together. Drain the sweet potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the herbs, creme fraishe (or sour cream), some grated cheese, and heavy cream. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash the potatoes. Drizzle in half of the brown butter mixture, then mash some more. Top with the rest of the brown butter, garnish with some fresh herbs, and serve!
Substitutions
Feel free to use regular potatoes (russet potatoes are very good for mashing), or normal sweet potatoes for this recipe.
Looking for more winter recipes? Try:
Orzo Stuffed Roasted Squash Bowls
Share this recipe…
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag #sweetandsorrel on Instagram!
Herby Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Garlic Brown Butter
Ingredients
- 4 large white sweet potatoes, skin on and sliced in half
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream)
- 1/4 cup grated cheese (I used provolone and parmesan)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (may need up to 1/3 cup)
- coarse salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add water to a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then add salt and sweet potatoes. Boil uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until sweet potatoes are cooked through. Drain and set aside.
- Heat butter in a saute pan over medium heat until butter begins to brown. Watch the butter carefully and gently swirl the pan occassionally to prevent the butter from burning. Once the butter starts to change color, add diced garlic. Continue to swirl the pan and brown until the garlic is crispy and butter is golden brown. It took me about 5 minutes.
- Add drained sweet potatoes to a large bowl, then add herbs, creme fraishe, cheese, half and half, salt and pepper, and half of the garlic brown butter. Mash until smooth. Add more heavy cream to make the potatoes more creamy. Top with the remaining brown butter mixture and garlic with fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram and hashtag it #sweetandsorrel so we can see all the deliciousness!
2 Comments