Sweet Potato Souffle – Gluten Free Suggestions

I like…not love sweet potatoes. When I have a side dish to go with a meat, I tend to want it to be savory, not sweet. The exception is roasted corn 🙂  I wanted to make a special dinner for my husband (he had been out-of-town) and I didn’t want to make the same old mashed potatoes. I decided to make a more savory sweet potato dish instead. Now, when people (meaning me) see the word “Souffle”  they immediately conjure images of cooking classes in the 40’s and 50’s and being very careful in the kitchen so the souffle won’t deflate. Well, after making this dish (this is my second time at it) I can say that I have no idea what they were cooking in those classes because there is absolutely no mystery about this Souffle. I hope you give it a try!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter + extra

Parmesan cheese

1/2 a cup of onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of garlic, minced

1 cup of sweet potatoes, mashed

*bake or steam the sweet potatoes ahead of time and allow to cool

1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour

(Gluten Free Suggestion 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 a cup of whole milk (do not use low-fat/fat-free)

1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

3/4 cup of Gruyère Cheese, shredded

3 eggs, separated

(keep the whites cold until you are ready to use them)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F

2) Butter a casserole or souffle dish and then coat Parmesan cheese

3) Saute onions and garlic until translucent, on a medium heat

4) Add flour (cornstarch) and salt and saute for an additional 30 seconds

5) Add milk to the mixture and whisk until mixture is thickened.

6) Add mashed sweet potato, thyme and black pepper and mix well.

7) Remove from heat and stir in Gruyère Cheese.

8) Whisk egg yolks in a bowl.

9) Add a few spoonfuls of the sweet potato mixture into the egg yolks until the egg yolks are heated through.

10) Add the egg yolk mixture into the rest of the sweet potato mixture, stirring well.

11) Whisk chilled egg whites until stiff peaks are formed.

12) Fold in egg white,  1/3rd at a time, into the sweet potato mixture.  Do not over mix.

13) Pour mixture into prepared bowl and bake for 30 minutes

The souffle will puff up when its baked but after some time, will deflate after it is out of the oven. Serve it immediately 🙂

I served my Sweet Potato Souffle with Roasted Beef and Au Jus and steamed vegetables