Thanksgiving is just around the corner! So obviously I had to test out a few recipes to eat in the weeks coming. This one was just so fun, so pretty and a tad bit healthier than the sugar-laden candied sweet potato recipes of the past. Using traditional fall spices (nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and cloves with a touch of coconut sugar) brings out the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes but with the addition of the crisp on top, makes it borderline taste like dessert. It's a win/win as a side to go with your turkey.
I found this great little pie dish at Target a while back and was so excited I just had to make a dish in it that was something other than pie. I'm not going to lie, pies are not my strong-suit. I've tried for years. I have a great pie crust down but the filling I always get wrong. Guess I need more practice. So when I decided to thinly slice 2.5 pounds of sweet potatoes, it came out kind of like a pie, but kind of like a side, is savory but sweet and all too delicious. Plus it looks really pretty and if you're attending someone else's Thanksgiving dinner and trying to impress, I definitely recommend this recipe.
I used a mandoline I found on Amazon (linked here) to get consistent slices of the sweet potatoes, but a sharp knife will do just fine. I also found a similar pie dish as well on Amazon here!
So, how do we make this?
The Potatoes:
I would definitely stick to sweet potatoes for this dish. White or golden potatoes will lack the sweetness needed to compliment the coconut sugar. Organic are always better too when it comes to sweet potatoes. They have way more flavor!!
Coconut Sugar:
The coconut sugar keeps this Paleo, but if you aren't worried about that, or only have brown sugar on hand, brown sugar is a fantastic substitute for Coconut Sugar. They have very similar tastes and will cook similarly.
Butter or Ghee:
If you're avoiding dairy, use Ghee in replacement of the Butter. It's also completely feasible to give the crumble a quick spray of Avocado Oil before putting it into the oven so that the top comes out brown and crunchy and comes together nicely.
First things first! Peel the sweet potatoes and chop off the ends. Using a very sharp knife or mandoline, slice the potatoes into thin and consistent slices. Spray a pie dish with Avocado or Olive Oil.
Next, get the potato seasoning mixed together. Fall Spices + Coconut Sugar and a touch of Salt will do. Mix it well and begin laying down the potatoes. Spray with a bit of olive oil or avocado oil so the seasoning sticks. This is also will help the potatoes to soften. Sprinkle a little seasoning onto the potatoes before putting down the next layer. Repeat until the potatoes reach the top of the pie dish or all the slices are used. Spray the last layer with oil and get to work on the crumble.
To create the crumble, mix all the ingredients aside from the butter well into a shallow dish. Melt the butter. Begin layering the crumble onto the sweet potatoes until well coated. Slowly drizzle the butter all over the crumble. Give it one more spray of spray oil if you struggled to evenly drizzle the butter. It happens! The goal is to ensure the crumble is well-coated with oil or butter so that it crisps up properly.
To cook, tent the dish with aluminum foil to ensure the potatoes cook through but the crumble doesn't brown too much. Bake for around 40 minutes, remove the aluminum foil, then bake for another 15 minutes to brown up the crumble.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into so that the crumble cools down and caramelizes a bit before slicing.
Enjoy!!
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