Vegan Orange Cinnamon Sweet Potatos with Candied Maple Pecans
10Our Le Creuset Holiday Giveaway is proving to be very popular. I can't wait to see who wins $720 worth of Cherry Red pieces to use for the holidays. I will announce the winner on Dec 11th, so good Luck! Until then, I will continue sharing some fabulous vegan holiday recipes I am making at home with my Le Creuset cookware.
As I mentioned when I posted the Spicy Roasted Candied Maple Pecans earlier this week, I was inspired by Bryant Terry’s Thanksgiving menu in the holiday issue of the Vegetarian Times to add some candied maple pecans to a vegan version of my mother-in-law Sandra Hanes’s orange cinnamon sweet potato mash. The results were spectacular, and I had to share the recipe with you.
The original recipe contains cream, butter, and sugar. However, I find roasted sweet potatoes to be so naturally rich and sweet, you don’t really need to do too much to achieve a decadent, rich, flavour. In this instance, as where we are stirring through the maple pecans, we need to add even less flavourings and seasonings, as the roasted nuts add such an earthy, smokey sweetness. So, I found keeping the mashed sweet potato base simple yielded a balanced flavour that was particularly pleasing.
If you want to serve these mashed sweet potatoes without the pecans to create a more simple nut-free side dish, you may want to add in more orange juice, cinnamon, maple syrup, and salt. You could also add in a pinch of nutmeg and ground ginger.
Either way, these mashed sweet potatoes are dressed to impress.
Vegan Orange Cinnamon Sweet Potatos with Candied Maple Pecans
- To make the Sweet Potatoes:
- 8 pounds sweet potato (about 12 - 14 large) makes about 6 cups mashed puree
- 3 Tbsp unsweetened orange juice
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
- 1 cup of Spicy Roasted Candied Maple Pecans
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes, prick them a few times with a fork, and bake for about an hour until soft.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, and scoop out flesh.
- Mash with a potato masher, or place in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Add in the orange juice, maple syrup and salt, and mix until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Pulse the candied maple pecans in your food processor just a few times to coursely chop them.
- Stir the pecans through the sweet potato and top with a sprinkle to serve.
- Adjust salt and maple syrup to taste once pecans have been added, and enjoy!
- Serves 8.
Piggy Cooking Tips
selecting the best raw walnuts
Raw unshelled walnuts are widely available in pre-packaged bags as well as bulk bins. Always purchase from a supplier where there is a high turnover to ensure freshness and quality. Look for walnuts that are uniform in colour. Avoid the limp and shrivelled ones. Walnuts should smell nutty and sweet. If they smell musty or rancid they are bad. Walnuts are extremely susceptible to rancidity due to their high polyunsaturated fat content. To preserve the precious oils, store walnuts in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to six months. Always soak walnuts before using to remove the enzyme inhibitors and make them more digestible.
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Piggy Grunts!
Add Your GruntI don’t think I will ever make the original version of this again…... this is unbelievably delicious!!!!
I know….these are SOOOOO good. I can’t stop dreaming about making them again for Christmas. YUMMO!
This sounds incredible. It’s on the menu for tomorrow! I will let you know how it goes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Thankyou Annabelle. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your lovely comment. We had a lovely Thanksgiving. I hope you did too.
I was fortunate to taste these at the Pre-Thanksgiving soiree and they were divine. With the a few of the right flavors added, the sweet potato remains the star of the dish! Marshmallows ... you are not welcome here!!! ; - )))
LOL! SO happy you were there to celebrate with us. LOVE YOU xxx
YUM YUM YUM is right. These are SOOOO unbelievably good!!!
As with yesterday’s entry, I was a participant at the pre-Thanksgiving potluck where this recipe made its debut, and I can honestly tell you this dish is sinfully delicious! And I say that having grown up with my mother’s traditional version and loving it immensely! I love it when Tess takes something so central to my childhood and adds her Vegan magic to it, because otherwise I’d have had to say goodbye to those delicious flavors long ago. Thanks babe, can’t wait to have more…! (Hint, hint!)
You are so cute commenting here…..
I love you! More recipes coming for YOU!