Grandma's Sweet Potatoes for Yontiff
For my formative years we had this recipe every Rosh Hashana and Thanksgiving. I'd looked through my grandmother's recipe boxes a few times in search of it, but didn't find it until now, 10 years after her passing. I'm so happy that I found it that I am using it to inaugurate a new section of my site called "The Grandma Zone" which will consist of recipes I have of hers, or those I find in her recipe boxes, many of whom she attributes to various friends who have now also passed on.
This recipe has been retrieved from my grandmother's recipe boxes and the original paper (images below) was heavily spattered with food and almost illegible. I have rephrased it without changing any ingredients or techniques into a more traditional recipe format.
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 8 dried figs
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 cup corn or Karo syrup
- 1 tblsp vinegar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- vegetable shortening and/or margarine
- salt water for parboiling
Method
Parboil the unpeeled potatoes in the salt water for 15 minutes. Place the figs in a large heat proof bowl. When the potatoes are done being boiled, pour off the hot water onto the figs and let the figs set in the hot water for 10 minutes. Allow the potatoes to cool.
Mix corn syrup, vinegar, brown sugar and salt in a separate bowl and set aside.
After 10 minutes, drain the figs and remove the stems. Chop the figs coarsely. Set an oven for 400° F.
Once the sweet potatoes have cooled, peel them and slice them lengthwise into long quarters.
Grease a large baking dish well. (My guess is you could use margarine, shortening, coconut oil or butter if it's dairy, but be aware that what you choose affects the flavor.) Put the quartered sweet potatoes in the dish first, and sprinkle with the figs and nuts.
Dot with whatever you chose for grease. (Quantity equivalent to 1/2 stick of butter which is 4 tblsp or 1/4 cup.) Place in the oven for 2 - 3 minutes until the grease melts. Remove from oven.
Pour in the corn syrup mixture you made earlier, making sure everything is coated.
Bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and bake 15 - 30 minutes more, basting often with a large metal spoon.
The original text is as follows:
4 parboil sweet potatoes in salted water (boil 15 min)
pour boiling water over 8 figs
cover and let stand 10 min. in water
remove stems and cut them coarsely
peel s. pot after cooled off and
slice lengthwise in 4's.
grease baking dish well put pot.
in dish and figs sprinkle with coarse
nuts. put in ^ (20 -12 nuts) oven until grease
melts (2 -3 min.) remove from
oven and pour 1 cup syrup (corn or
Karo) + 1 tbsp vinegar combined
1/2 cup brown sugar + 1/2 tsp salt
add to pot. 1/2 cube of marg dotted
over ingred. bake 400° oven covered
15 min. remove cover and bake 15 - 30 (underlined) min
baste often
