Bacon Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

By Patlynn

Nothing against the marshmallow-topped version, but we wanted an elegant, simple sweet potato dish for the holiday table. We wrapped cubed potatoes seasoned with brown sugar in foil and baked them until they were soft. The food processor ensured a perfectly smooth puree, and butter and cream added richness, while cinnamon, orange zest, and a pinch of cayenne rounded out the flavors. Finally, a simple topping sprinkled over the casserole and a quick turn under the broiler created a crisp, caramelized crust.

Ingredients

• Be sure to use a broiler-safe soufflé dish.
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 5 slices bacon
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay two 24 by 12-inch sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil perpendicular to each other inside rimmed baking sheet. Place sweet potatoes in center of foil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Fold opposite sides of foil toward each other and crimp edges to seal tightly. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until sweet potatoes are tender, about 60 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and heat broiler.
2. Cook bacon in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to paper towel–lined plate. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble into bite-size pieces. Pulse bacon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in food processor until coarsely ground, about 10 pulses; set aside.
3. Carefully open 1 end of foil pouch, taking care to avoid escaping steam, and pour potatoes and accumulated liquid into food processor. Add butter, cream, orange zest and juice, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and cayenne and process until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
4. Transfer potato puree to 2-quart soufflé dish and sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon-sugar mixture. Broil sweet potatoes until topping is lightly browned and bubbling, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.
TO MAKE AHEAD: Processed potatoes can be refrigerated without topping for up to 2 days. To serve, cover dish with aluminum foil and bake on middle rack of 400-degree oven until hot throughout, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil, add bacon-sugar topping, and broil as directed in step 4.


Handy Foil Packet


Cooking the sweet potatoes in a sealed foil packet helps concentrate their flavor, and 1 tablespoon of sugar encourages them to caramelize. Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, the packet becomes a handy vessel for dumping the hot potatoes into the food processor.


PEEL, CUBE, WRAP: Then your sweet potato prep is done.