Sweet Potato Puree with Crispy Shallots
Serves 12
This is an incredibly versatile side dish that shows just how delicious healthy can be. Serve it with a holiday turkey or a simple roast chicken. Or top it with a mushroom sauté for a meatless feast.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped shallots
- 4 pounds garnet sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
- Bring a large pot of boiling salted water to a boil and add drop in potatoes.
- Return to a gentle boil over medium heat and cook for 12-15 minutes, until tender enough to pierce with a fork.
- Drain in a colander and then transfer half to a food processor.
- Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and sauté shallots for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown (be careful-they go quickly from golden to burnt in the last minute or so).
- Transfer to a paper towel.
- Add half the butter, milk, honey and soy sauce to the food processor with the sweet potatoes and puree for 30 seconds, until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Combine the two batches of puree, season with salt and pepper and stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the shallots. Scrape into a serving bowl and top with remaining shallots.
About Lia Huber
Lia Huber had an auspicious start to her food career when she won a gold medal in a beanstalk growing contest at her kindergarten. But it wasn't for another two and a half decades, when she moved from New York to San Francisco in 1997, that she cultivated food into a full-time pursuit.
Since then, Lia has written hundreds of recipes and articles for over a dozen national magazines including Cooking Light, Prevention, Health, Natural Health, Hemispheres and Fitness, and her work has been featured on CNN.com, MSNBC.com and WebMD. Lia has appeared live on FOX and ABC television and speaks on nourishing body and soul through food.
Now Lia is furthering her goal of helping people enjoy food that's healthy for both their bodies and the earth in new ways. Lia recently launched Nourish Network-like an online magazine meets Facebook for foodies-to promote sustainable change with tempting recipes and bite-sized bits of rich content on sound nutrition, "eco-clean" eating and being mindful around meals. Also in the works is a small-group coaching program called MyNourishMentor.
On the surface, Lia's goal is to help people maintain a healthy body, a comfortable weight and an eco-clean conscience while getting more pleasure from food. But on a deeper level, it's about helping people feel fulfilled, content and connected with every meal, every bite.
Lia first broke into writing during the wee hours of the night in the late 90s while working as a marketing manager in New York City by day. Her first article, in a 1996 issue of Hemispheres, covered the music clubs in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans and was followed by several other destination pieces.
But her move to California spawned a love affair with fresh, seasonal produce and local ingredients and Lia shifted her focus from travel to food. Later, a serious health issue and a persistent "20 pounds too many" prompted Lia to branch out and seek nutrition-focused assignments to learn from the experts what healthy living looked like.
In addition to writing for publication, Lia also continues to help food and wine companies find their voices as a branding and messaging consultant. She is also Vice Chair of the Food Writers, Editors and Publishers section of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Lia received an MBA from University of Florida, a BA in Communication with a minor in French from Tulane University, and has studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Culinary Institute of America Greystone in Napa Valley. She recently finished writing her first novel, I Land Home, a culinary odyssey that takes readers from an island in Greece to both coasts of America. Lia lived in New York, New Orleans, Paris, Greece, Costa Rica and San Francisco before putting down roots in Healdsburg with her husband, Christopher, and daughter, Noemi.
A Nourishing Thanksgiving
Nourish Network focuses on three areas-sound nutrition, eating with an 'eco-clean' conscience and being mindful around meals-to help people nourish body and soul with every bite. Learn how to apply this three-pronged approach with a Thanksgiving meal that leaves your guests content and connected-to themselves, others and the earth we share-rather than simply stuffed.
For more information, visit nourishnetwork.com
