RECIPE- Purple Sweet Potato Ali'i

This past Saturday I was asked to do a cooking demonstration at the Kino'ole Farmer's Market.  I decided to use the beautiful local purple sweet potatoes.  One of the vendors at the market, Cyrus Wagatsuma, grows 4 different varieties of sweet potatoes and he offered me as much of the sweet potatoes as I needed. 

 

In the Hawaiian language the word ali'i means royal or high born.  To me the Okinawan aka Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes are definitely royal!

Having lived in several southern states in the mainland, I was quite familiar with the 'sweet potato souffles' made from yams.  The sweet potato souffle usually shows up on southern tables as part of the Christmas menu with marshmallows on top. 

 

This is a slightly different variation on my local version of the Southern Sweet Potato Souffle as it appears on page 29 of my cookbook Tropical Taste.

4 cups cooked and mashed purple sweet potatoes

2 large eggs

1 cup liliko'i syrup (*)

1/2 cup firmy packed brown sugar (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

3 Tablespoons melted butter

 

I find it easier to peel the sweet potatoes after boiling whole.  Chop and mash either with a potato masher or hand mixer.

 

Preheat oven to 350 F.

 
Liliko'i (Passion Fruit) Syrup:

Boil equal portions of liliko'i juice and refined sugar until it reaches the consistency of thick syrup.  Don't overcook or it will caramelize.  You want something like molasses.

 

In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, butter and salt to simmer and add it to the mashed sweet potatoes.  Add the passion fruit syrup, the brown sugar, if using, and the eggs, mixing and incorporating with the mashed sweet potatoes, milk and butter.

 

Pour or spoon the mixture into a 12 x 8 x 1 -1/2 baking dish and sprinkle with the following topping.

 

Topping:

3 Tablespoons melted butter

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup chopped and roasted unsalted macadamia nuts

1 cup flaked coconut

 

Sprinkle on top of dish and bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Sonia]

Leslie, I'm not sure where you live, but passion fruit are now found in many mainland supermarket produce departments. The syrup is easy to make. If you can't find the fresh fruit, you can search for frozen, concentrated passion fruit juice. Usually comes from South America and they called it maracuya or maracuja.

If you still can't find it, a mixture of orange-lime syrup would be ok but the passion fruit has a more distinctive taste.

[Leslie]

can you replace the passion fruit syrup with something else? I would love to make this but cant get passion fruit syrup.

[trina]

Wow! That is just gorgeous! What a lovely interpretation of a traditional Thanksgiving dish.

[Sonia]

Hola, Joel....yes, it is! Feliz Navidad!

[Taste of Cuba]

Looks tasty!

[Sonia]

Aloha, Lucy
Hope you try it and like it...but what is there not to like....?
;-)

[Lucy Jones]

Aloha! I absolutely adore the purple sweet potatoes here. Like you, I spent many years in the South (Mississippi and Florida) and I like the orange yams. These have a distinctive flavor that is nothing like those, however. My students often make something like this with coconut milk to bring when we have a potluck meal. I'll have to try this one.
Lucy

[Sonia]

Thank you, Sarah....they are!

Mahalo, Devany....we love them prepared in any way!
I also make a very delicious soup using coconut milk or cream...

[Devany]

Looks and sounds great Sonia! We glean the fields for the food bank and often get to take home the odd shaped ones, so there are usually plenty in my pantry. I just love them masked with butter best of all, but this is a more festive way to do them!

[Sarah H]

Looks tasty and pretty!