Trying to please everyone at the holiday table is a real challenge for many hosts. As long as I’m not compromising flavor, I find it easier to serve a big holiday roast and then, depending on my guests, make as many of the side dishes as possible vegan or vegetarian.
These Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes are equally good made vegan with almond-milk based plain yogurt and coconut creamer or vegetarian with buttermilk and milk. Rather than top these potatoes with the usual treacly marshmallows, I’ve taken inspiration from this year’s Bon Appetit and sprinkled them with pumpkin seeds.
PrintTwice Baked Sweet Potatoes For Everyone at the Table
- Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup buttermilk (or plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt to make it vegan)
1/2 cup milk (or coconut creamer to make it vegan)
6 tablespoons butter or plant-based butter spread (I use Earth Balance)
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
Instructions
Adjust oven to low position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes, cut side down on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake until fork tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool until warm enough to handle. (Potatoes can be left, cut side down on baking tray in a cool spot over night.) Scoop flesh into a microwave-safe bowl, leaving a 1/ 4-inch border of flesh to support skin, and microwave potato flesh back to a hot state. Turn potatoes into a blender canister or food processor bowl; add yogurt and/or milks and process, stopping and stirring as necessary, until pureed. Add butter, then process until potatoes are silky smooth; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon a portion of puree back into each potato shell. (Can sit at room temperature for a couple of hours.) When ready to bake, sprinkle a portion of pumpkin seeds over each potato. Bake until heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.
