Sweet Potato Tian
Sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving essential, and this dish features all those familiar traditional warm spice flavor notes via Chinese Five Spice, soy, miso, citrus and brown sugar. Five Spice is a magical blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn and fennel seeds and is a versatile spice blend that’s widely used in all branches of Chinese cooking and encompasses sweet, spicey with mild licorice undertones. I consider it Pumpkin Spice’s sassier sister—there’s a bit more complexity—and it works beautifully in this tian. Most of the work is done in the oven and the result is beautifully tender flesh that’s bursts with flavor—and with a gorgeous presentation as well. Make sure when stacking the slices to pack them in as tightly as possible as they will shrink a bit during baking. Find potatoes that are large—2 to 2.5” diameter in the center—are best.
Find this recipe on Bon Appétit.
Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 1" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
¼ cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)
¼ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp white miso
2 tsp Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp Morton kosher salt
2 tsp five-spice powder
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp thyme leaves, plus more for serving
4 lb medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled, sliced ⅛" thick
METHOD
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Butter a 10" cast-iron skillet or a 2½-qt. shallow round or oval baking dish. Melt 6 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns (do not burn) and smells nutty, 5–8 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in garlic, ginger, orange zest, orange juice, broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, miso, salt, five-spice powder, pepper, and 1 Tbsp. thyme.
Combine sweet potatoes and brown butter mixture in a large bowl and toss gently until sweet potatoes are thoroughly coated. Stack sweet potato slices upright on their edges in vertical rows along perimeter of skillet, following the curve of the pan. Arrange more vertical rows of sweet potatoes down center of skillet to cover entire pan. Be sure to pack sweet potatoes tightly and fill in any gaps with smaller sweet potato slices. Pour any remaining brown butter from bowl over sweet potatoes, then cover skillet tightly with foil.
Bake sweet potatoes until fork-tender, 50–60 minutes. Carefully remove foil and increase oven temperature to 425°. Continue to bake until tops of sweet potatoes are deep golden brown, 30–40 minutes longer. Scatter more thyme over tian and let cool slightly before serving.
Do Ahead: Tian can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover tightly with foil and chill. Reheat, loosely covered with foil, in a 350° oven until heated through, 40–45 minutes.