Clark's Somewhat Lighter Sweet Potato Casserole

 

Clark's somewhat lighter Sweet Potato Casserole

This was inspired by a recipe that Tyler Florence did years ago on the Food Channel.  I basically took his idea and altered a traditional Southern sweet potato casserole recipe.  The roasted banana is the 'secret' ingredient and allows you to back off the the amount of sugar in the recipe.  Most traditional Sweet Potato recipes have way too much sugar and fat in them - so many are more of a dessert dish than a side dish. I halved the amount of butter and am using only about 1/3 of the sugar.  You will not miss it, it's still a rich dish with a ton of spice and flavor.  I hope you like it!

Pre-heat oven to 400°F, bake,

2 – 3 large sweet potatoes,

Line a cookie sheet with foil, and bake the potatoes until a knife inserted into the middle meets no resistance, usually takes 45 minutes.  During the last 10 minutes add

1 banana.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool so that the potatoes and banana can be handled easily. When cool, peel the banana and the potatoes and place in a mixing bowl, mix with a hand or stand mixer until combined.


Preheat oven to 350°F.

 Add to the potato/banana mixture:

2 eggs (or for a lighter version 4 egg whites, beaten just to frothy)
¼ cup butter, softened
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
½ tsp salt

Mix until well blended.  Place in a greased 2 qt. Pyrex baking dish.

Topping

In a separate bowl, mix together:

 ¼ cup butter, melted
 ½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with the pecan mixture, use a spoon to spread it around.

Bake for:

approximately 30 – 40 minutes until bubbly.  Serve warm.

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