This past weekend I was challenged to make an easy to eat appetizer with some fall flare. I immediately thought about my sweet potato cornbread. Friends, family and clients always love the sweet, dense flavor of this recipe and for an added benefit it is gluten free. The next question to answer was what to serve it with. Bacon jam is everywhere nowadays and not too hard to make. I wanted to add a little more fall flavors to it so I added some apples. Below you can find the recipe to the sweet potato cornbread. It is great topped with a jam or compound butter, it is also a perfect side for everything from ribs to your Thanksgiving dinner. Other ideas include adding cinnamon, nutmeg or one of your other favorite spices.
Serves 9 to 12
Ingredients 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped 2 cups yellow cornmeal 1/2 tsp salt 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temp 3/4 cup brown sugar 4 eggs 1 cup milk Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees Boil sweet potato chunks until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain, transfer to a boil and mash with a wooden spoon or masher. In a medium bowl combine the cornmeal and salt. In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Next add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Reduce the speed to low and add the mashed sweet potato and milk. Mix until just combined. Use a spoon to mix in the cornmeal mixture until the batter is just combined. Scrape the batter into a greased baking pan. For thinner bread use a 10 by 14 inch pan. If you want a denser bread you can use a cast iron skillet or an 8, 9, 10 inch square pan. Bake until firm which will be 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 9 to 12 servings.