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Thanksgiving: Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie

Source of Recipe


From "The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook"



List of Ingredients



• 1½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes), peeled and chopped into ½-inch dice
  
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp kosher salt
  
• 3 large eggs, separated
  
• ½ cup sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  
• ¾ cup whole or lowfat buttermilk (preferably whole)
  
• .
  
• Sweet Pie Crust (recipe follows), prebaked
  






Instructions



1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
   
   
2. Pour 1½ inches of water into a 3-quart stockpot with a strainer basket and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, cover, and steam until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Strain the sweet potatoes, place in a large bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Mash them to a smooth purée with a fork or potato masher. You should have 1¼ cups purée; discard any excess. Add the butter, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt, mixing thoroughly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after each addition.
   
   
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until they're a creamy lemon-yellow color, about 1½ minutes. Add the egg mixture to the sweet potato mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the eggs are thoroughly incorporated and the filling is a consistent bright orange color. Add the flour, a little at a time, stirring after each addition, until thoroughly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and stir to incorporate.
   
   
4. Wash the whisk in a stream of hot water to wash away any butter residue, then rinse in cold water to cool it down and dry with a paper towel. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, about 1½ minutes. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the sweet potato-buttermilk mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake on the middle rack until the center is firm and set, 35 to 40 minutes.
   
   
5. Remove the pie from the oven and cool completely on a rack. Serve at room temperature (or cover with plastic wrap, chill in the refrigerator, and serve cold), with a dollop of whipped cream and a mint leaf on top.
   
   Serves 6
   
   ............
   
   SWEET PIE CRUST
   
   • 1½ cups sifted bleached all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
   • 1 Tbsp sugar
   • 1 tsp salt
   • 4 Tbsp cold lard, cut into small pieces
   • 4 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
   • ¼ cup ice water
   
   Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the pieces of lard and butter over them and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Dust your work surface with flour. If prebaking, preheat the oven to 325° F.
   
   Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the lard and butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with a scattering of pea-sized pieces throughout. Add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, and toss with a fork to combine after each addition, until the pastry holds together when pinched (you may not use all the ice water).
   
   Gather the pastry together into a round disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until ready to use.
   
   With a floured pin, roll out the dough on the floured surface to a 12-inch round. To make a pie shell, transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Fold any excess dough that hangs below the rim of the pan on top of the rim so you have enough material to crimp. Cut off any egregious excess and use it to patch any holes or tears. Refrigerate for 15 minutes before filling or prebaking.
   
   To prebake the crust (as for Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie), lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the dough and carefully scatter pie weights, dried beans, or pennies in the pan. Bake on the middle rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights and the foil, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, and bake for 10 minutes more, or until the bottom of the crust appears dry.
   
   Makes 1 pie shell
   (or 1 top for a double-crust pie)
   
   
   NOTE:
   "This pie crust works well for all kinds of dessert pies. The trick to getting it to bake up nice and flaky is to chill all your ingredients ahead of time in the bowl you're going to be working in. If it's really warm out, we even put our rolling pin in the freezer while the ingredients are chilling. Although some people like to use cake flour in their pie crusts, we like the flavor of all-purpose better."