Maple-Roasted Yams

yummy sweet potatoes,what's not to like but then add a little maple syrup and spices and heaven.Moist and tender the bowl went around and around the table till none were left,good sign don't you think.

yams

I added a bit of chipotle chili powder to the recipe, because I love it.........they were the most popular item on the menu!

Our 'old' traditional sweet potato recipe involved par boiling & then simmering in a mixture of butter & brown sugar, turning to coat every 20min or so. Not a prep & leave affair at all, let alone the calories!! This recipe is supper simple & just as delicious.

What is kosher salt?
I thought that this was a non religious school.

To learn more about kosher salt and why so many chefs use it, watch Topic 2 of "How to Season with Salt" (around 1:30)
It explains what it is and why it is a favorite in many kitchens...and it's not for religious reasons.

For even more information, there is also a drill-down called "Learn About Gourmet Salts". Cheers!

Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, we add cayenne pepper to the mix of maple syrup and metled butter. Then right before serving, and we also add about 2/3 cup of chopped roasted pecans. Delicious :)

can i prepare this up to cooking it 2 days in advance? I like to get as much done in advance for Thanksgiving as I can...

just wait to cook them until just before dinner. Keep them covered in the fridge until then.

Cheers,
Joe

I will be making these tomorrow, along with all of the other rouxbe holiday items. I plan on adding pecans as others have mentioned. Can I simply chop and toss them in while the yams bake or should I roast the nuts separately and add at the end? I am sure both will "work" but I am wondering if baking the nuts for the full time will dry them out.

I recommend toasting the pecans separately. Once the yams are cooked toss in the pecans and serve. This way they will stay nice and crunchy. Cheers!

Thanks for your advice, Joe. I have peeled,cut,and tossed yams in syrup and olive oil. It's now sitting pretty in the fridge and ready to bake on Thanksgiving. One less thing to worry about! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Just one thing...make sure you do not season the yams ahead or this will draw out their moisture. Cheers!

I do believe there is a difference but I don't know what it is? Here in France the vegetable that looks like what you are using is called "Patate douce" which literally means sweet potato. It's been so long since I've seen sweet potatoes in the US, but I thought they were more round; like potatoes only orangish.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, no need to answer this question as I found a response by Dawn, to a similar question. There was a link to a cool article explaining where all of the confusion came from! :D

If there ever was a vegetable or recipe to demonstrate the importance of a sharp knife, this is it! I came away from this one with all of my fingers intact, but I had a few close calls. :-) I actually have a pretty decent knife - can't buy a new one right now anyway. Perhaps I should wander over to the "knife sharpening" lessons next...

Those yams were definitely tough, but the recipe turned out great! I'm excited to try it again, since I finally found some kosher salt in my little town. Thankfully I still have some yams in the freezer - already chopped!

Glad that you liked the yams! It is so important to work with a sharp knife, so hope your Christmas wish list comes true. One note about the frozen, raw yams - they might not turn out the same way just because once thawed, there will be excess moisture and they might not brown well or have the same texture. Give it a try, but you might want to keep that knife sharp and cut the yams up as you need them. Cheers!

Maple syrup on sweet potatoes. What could be more heavenly.
I couldn't find the link that Monique was referring to explaining the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, but here is what I was able to find out when I was researching this subject some time ago: botanically, sweet potatoes are from the Ipomoea genus, which makes them related to morning glories. Whether orange or white-fleshed, this is what we are most likely to find in North American supermarkets. Yams are from a totally different family, and not readily available here (Canada). Even if labeled yams, they're probably sweet potatoes.
But, do we really care - either way, they taste so good, and are good for you!

Do you bake on the middle rack?

Yes, roasting is generally done in the middle of the oven. For more information, please check out the lesson in the Cooking School on How to Roast Vegetables. Cheers!

Is it ok to use honey instead of maple syrup? is there some chemistry thing involved in the cooking process that would make the substitution go wrong? or will honey not go with the spices added? thank you!

Echo, as I mentioned in your last comment, "ultimately, you are free to make any substitutions that you like. You just need to know that it will alter the final flavor and as long as you are okay with that then feel free to try it."

Then afterwards, access the dish and ask yourself if you liked it? To really know you should try it once with maple syrup and once with just honey. You will see that they are both delicious but they each provide the yams with a different flavor note. Honey is more neutral while maple adds an obvious maple flavor, which is very typical in many holiday and fall recipes.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

thank you dawn for answering. i'm really insecure about substituting! i'm afraid it's going to have some chemical reaction that would change the whole thing! but thanks! I'll try to be more daring next time !!

When you are first learning to cook it can be intimidating to make substitutions. With things like baking this can be much more tricky but with cooking in general you can often make substitutions. In the end, the worst thing that will happen is that the dish may not turn out, so next time you don't make the same substitution...but the world will not end :-)

Experimenting and making changes and practicing, practicing and practicing is how we all learn. The more you practice and experiment the more you learn and the more confident you will become...it's that simple.

If you are someone that does like to regularly make substitutions then I strongly encourage you to buy a book like "The Flavor Bible", as this will provide you with a bit more guidance as to what ingredients are better suited to each other, so it is not just a guessing game. With that said, you don't have to use it like a bible, again, they are merely suggestions.

Once you start allowing yourself some freedom it will be like riding a bike for the first time without training wheels...it will feel great!

Hope this helps Echo. Cheers!