4 lbs of yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes), peeled, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
8 Tbsp (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add yams. Cook until water returns to a simmer, about 4 minutes. Drain; rinse in cold water.
2 Arrange yams in baking dish, overlapping pieces. Sprinkle with salt. Pour maple syrup over yams. Dot with 3 Tbsp of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until yams are almost tender, about 25 minutes.
3 Mix flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add remaining 5 Tbsp of butter. Rub in with fingers until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Mix in pecans.
4 Sprinkle pecan mixture over yams. Bake yams until tender, about 20 minutes.
Serves 12.
Note: can be made ahead. For this batch I did steps 1-3 the night before. The next day I brought the yams to room temperature in the microwave, sprinkled the mixture over the top, and baked in the oven for 20 minutes.
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