Made with creamy baked sweet potatoes and topped with a pancetta, sage, and pecan crumble, this casserole is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour35 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour45 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Calories 578kcal
Ingredients
4 poundssweet potatoes, about 5-6 sweet potatoes
8tablespoonsbutter, softened at room temperature
½cuphalf and half or whole milk
¼cuplight brown sugar, can also use dark
½teaspoonkosher salt
½teaspoonfreshly ground pepperto taste
2large eggs
For the Savory Crumble
4tablespoonsunsalted butter
½cuplight brown sugar
½cupflour
½cupdiced pancetta, 4 ounces
1cupunsalted pecans, coarsely chopped
2tablespoonsfresh sage. coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place the potatoes on a baking sheet, whole with the skin on, and cook in a 400°F oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the size), or until very soft and the peels are papery and pulling away from the flesh. Use a cake tester or long skewer to test for tenderness. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, remove them from the oven and rest until you can easily peel the jackets from the potatoes, then discard the peel. Reduce the oven temp to 350°F.
While the potatoes bake, make the savory crumble. Heat a small skillet over medium and cook the diced pancetta, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until crisp. Use a slotted spatula to transfer pancetta to a paper towel to drain. Add 4 tablespoons of the butter to a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. To the melted butter, add the brown sugar, flour, pecans, chopped sage, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and use your hands to combine. Set aside.
Add the peeled sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Use an electric hand mixer or potato masher to mash them well. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of softened butter, half and half, brown sugar, and salt, and mix well. Whisk in the eggs. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and evenly sprinkle the crumble mixture overtop. Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Notes
Use whole milk instead of half and half, walnuts or hazelnuts instead of pecans, or bacon instead of pancetta (or leave out the meat entirely).This would also be great with fresh rosemary (in addition to or in place of the sage).Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days.