This dish is going to smell divine as it bakes, with the heavenly aroma of your grandma’s sweet potato pie wafting through your house. This may very well confuse your guests, who will be expecting that pie and getting this casserole in its place. This is one of the guilty pleasures of cooking – I call it “food pranking.”

This dish is quite easy to make. You might be surprised to know that it is just as good served at a slightly chilled room temperature as it is straight out of your oven. And therein lies the major flaw with this recipe. It is so good that you may very well find yourself standing in front of your refrigerator at 3 a.m. wolfing it down with wild abandon!

 

INGREDIENTS

3 large yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds

4 slices of bacon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons bourbon, such as Four Roses, or apple juice

½ cup pure Vermont maple syrup

3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored and sliced

Salt and ground black pepper

1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Boil the prepared yams in a large pot of salted water until they are just beginning to soften.  Drain and rinse the yam slices.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until it is crisp, and remove from pan to drain on paper towels.  Use the bacon fat from the skillet to coat the inside of a shallow 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan.   Mix the corn starch into the bourbon in a small dish.  Add the maple syrup and the bourbon mixture to the butter.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. Remove from the heat.

Arrange the yam pieces in the bottom of the baking dish.  Place the pear pieces between the yam slices. Pour the syrup over the yams and pears. Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly over the yams and pears.

Bake for 30 minutes, occasionally basting the potatoes and pears with the syrup from the bottom of the pan.  (If desired, you can cool the baked dish and store in the fridge for up to 1 day at this point. Reheat at 300 degrees, covered.)

Sprinkle the chopped bacon and toasted pecan pieces over the top of the yams and pears, and bake for 5 minutes to heat the topping. Serve hot.

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Quick Tip:  Want to create an even more impressive presentation of this dish at your table? Add a handful or two of bright red cranberries to the mix before baking.

Recipe and image courtesy of Mimi at Mimi Avocado