Sweet Potato Custard

As usual, this recipe grew out of foods that needed to be used!

Ingredients

– 1.25 HUGE sweet potatoes

 

– 2.5 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

– 1 cup eggnog (I did not use light, but you could!)

– 2 eggs

– 2 Tbsp maple syrup

– LOTS nutmeg (or cinnamon, if you prefer)

– sprinkle of ginger (or crumbled gingersnap thins, if that’s all you have :-))

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

To cook sweet potatoes, use a fork to poke holes in the skin. Put the potatoes in a casserole dish with about a centimeter of water. Cover loosely and either bake at 400-425 for about an hour or microwave 5-10 minutes depending on microwave’s strength. When cooked, the potatoes should feel tender (and like you can mash them with a fork since that is what you will have to do).

Peel cooked potatoes.

Eat the potato skins — they are yummy and have lots of nutrients that your body needs.

 Use a fork to mash cooked, peeled potatoes.

 In a large bowl, mix potatoes and ricotta. 

 Add eggnog and maple syrup. Mix.

 

Add spices, tasting as you go, until you think it is good. I probably used 1/2 Tbsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 4-5 crumbled gingersnap thins. Do this BEFORE you add the eggs because we all know that raw eggs cause problems.

Beat in eggs.

Pour mixture into an oven-safe dish that fits it.

Bake at 375 for 1 hour and 20 minutes (if you don’t have that much time, you could probably do it at 400 for 45 minutes). You’ll know it’s done when you jiggle the pan and it seems firm.

I had planned to serve this as a dessert, but I think the sweetness is subtle enough that it could work just as well (or better!) as a side dish.

Warning: The irresistible aroma of this custard wafting through the house may lead to trouble …