Sweet Potato Hash Browns

1 medium sweet potato
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. sugar
Pinch of cloves - to taste

Peel the sweet potato and grate as you would for hash browns.  Melt the butter.  Stir the sugar into the butter.  Toss melted butter into the grated potato.  Spray a non-stick frying pan with non-stick spray.  Over medium high heat 'fry' the potatoes until done, allowing some to actually brown.  Sprinkle with cloves.  Serves 2

Comment:  When I was a kid my Mom would make fried sweet potatoes.  She would cut them into strips and fry them in butter allowing some to brown.  When they were done she would sprinkle them with sugar instead of salt.  This was a delicious dessert for us.  I decided to try grating my potatoes and see if I could get the same taste without all the butter that was required when she fried hers.  This worked perfectly!  I could eat these every day!  If you don't like cloves you can sprinkle a little nutmeg or cinnamon or nothing at all.

How to Buy Sweet Potatoes

 

Two types of sweet potatoes are available in varying amounts the year round.

 

Moist sweet potatoes, sometimes called yams, are the most common type.  They have orange colored flesh and are very sweet.  The true yam is the root of a tropical vine which is not grown commercially in the U.S.

 

Dry sweet potatoes have a pale colored flesh, low in moisture.

 

Most sweet potatoes are grown in the Southern tier and some Eastern States, in an area from Texas to New Jersey.  California is also a heavy producer.

 

When buying look for well-shaped, firm sweet potatoes with smooth, bright, uniformly colored skins, free from signs of decay.  Because they are ore perishable than Irish potatoes, extra care should be used in selecting them.

 

Avoid sweet potatoes with worm holes, cuts, grub injury and any other defects which penetrate the skin; this causes waste and can readily lead to decay.  Even if you cut away the decayed portion, the remainder of the potato flesh which looks normal may have a bad taste.  Decay is the worst problem with sweet potatoes and is of three types:  wet, soft decay, dry firm decay which begins at the end of the potato, making it discolored and shriveled; and dry rot in the form of sunken, discolored areas on the sides of the potato.  Sweet potatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Pie

I found a recipe for the 'Perfect Pumpkin Pie' and decided to try making it into a Sweet Potato Pie. Above is my finished product.  View the full recipe by going to Martha's Recipe Cabinet.  This is a pie worth making!