Sweet Potatoes Baked With Lemon
This recipe first appeared in The Times in 1992, with an article by Molly O'Neill, when Edna Lewis, many years after writing her seminal cookbook “The Taste of Country Cooking,” was the chef at the Brooklyn restaurant Gage & Tollner. The addition of lemon zest and juice make this brighter and less sweet than typical sweet potato dishes.
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 6medium sweet potatoes
- 2cups light brown sugar (or a mixture of light and dark)
- 1teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- A (6-inch) strip of lemon zest (yellow part only)
- ½teaspoon salt
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼cup lemon juice
Instructions
Step 1
Rinse the potatoes under warm water. Place in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain and let cool.Step 2
Combine the sugar, ½ cup water, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add 5 tablespoons butter and stir well. When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and beat in the lemon juice. Set aside.Step 3
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1/2-inch disks. Use the remaining tablespoon of butter to grease a shallow baking dish. Lay the sweet potatoes in the dish in a single layer and pour the lemon syrup on top. Bake until bubbling hot, about 30 minutes.