Ok, I went a little nuts with the agave nectar this Thanksgiving. But it worked great in these yams and with the cranberry sauce. (The pumpkin pie…not so great.)
Yam Mashies with Orange Juice and Agave Nectar
serves 8 – 10
7 good sized yams, approx. 6 pounds, roasted until tender
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
whole pecans for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place washed yams on baking sheet and prick each a few times with a fork. Bake until tender inside, about 1 hour.
2. Scrape the flesh from the yam skins and put into a food processor. Add the orange juice, agave nectar, cream, butter, vanilla and spices and process just until smooth.
3. Spoon into a buttered baking dish that holds about 8 – 12 cups (2 – 3 quarts). (I use an oval that is approximately 11×7 inches.) Top with pecans and bake about 30 minutes, until hot.
Kitchen Coach Tips
- If you want to bring down the fat content, I suggest eliminating the cream, but keeping the butter. Each serving then gets slightly over 1 teaspoon of butter.
- You can roast the yams in advance and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make them into the “mashies”. I usually put the yams in the oven when I’m baking something else, maybe a night or two before I want to make this dish.
- You can prep the mashed yams a day in advance — just cover and store (w/o baking first) in the fridge. The next day, bring to room temperature then heat in 350 degree oven.
