Thanksgiving Eats: Coconut-Sweet Potato Pie

It's no secret by now that we love Mark Bittman of the NY Times. I totally jumped on his twist on the traditional sweet potato pie and was not disappointed. I'm not a fan of sweet potatoes (sweet potato fries: I am not impressed with you), but add sugar and I'll eat almost anything. The recipe is here, but I've also pasted it below.

Recipe

2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks, boiled for 12–15 minutes and mashed)

1 1/3 c. graham cracker crumbs (1 package, which has 9 sheets)

1/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 c. plus 2 tbs. sugar

1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 stick of butter (8 tbs.), melted

3 eggs

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

large pinch of salt

1 c. coconut milk

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. While the potatoes cook, crush the graham crackers and mix with 2 tbs. sugar, 1/4 tsp. ginger and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Add melted butter and toss until just combined. Press into 9-inch pie plate and bake for about 7 minutes. Let cool.

Mix eggs, rest of sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt. Add coconut milk. Mix until just combined. Add mashed sweet potatoes, mix until just combined. Pour into cooled pie crust. Put pie plate onto a baking sheet and bake about 40–45 minutes, until mixture is set but still moist. Cool and serve.

I love the coconut, sugar and spices in the graham cracker crust. The coconut milk in the filling was a little too much coconut for my taste. But I'm still glad I tried this recipe out this year. Maybe Okinawan sweet potatoes or Hawaiian purple potatoes with the coconut milk would be an awesome combination for next time.