A Delicious Savory Sweet Potato Tart

Recently, I found myself with a lot of produce in the house, but a short time to use it up. I was heading out of town that weekend. Being that I don’t like to waste food, I thought about how I could quickly use it all up. Of course, a dinner party was the answer. (Sorry friends, it turns out that you’re just stomachs for me to fill.)

Savory Sweet Potato Tart | ZonteeHou.com

When it comes to a produce-driven meal of any sort, I let the ingredients really speak to me and tell me what they might want to be. Since I had a few Japanese and regular sweet potatoes, I decided to turn them into a savory tart to serve as one of two entrées (the other was an onion and mushroom quiche). We also had a warm kale salad (I blanche harder varieties of kale before serving them) with walnuts and tomatoes, and for dessert, some sorbet.

This savory tart is great for those who love mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes) and have always wanted to have them in pie-form. I use three members of the allium family (onions, shallots, and chives) to give it more of that savory flavor against the sweetness of the potatoes.

Savory Sweet Potato Tart

Crust:

I used Tamar Adler’s Olive Oil Tart Dough, but you could also use my favorite Martha Stewart Pâte Brisée recipe.

Filling Ingredients:

  • 3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into 1-inch pieces (I leave skin on, as I want to preserve the nutrients, but you can peel them if you prefer)
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 medium onion, julienned
  • 1 small shallot, julienned
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 Tbsp to 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp) chopped chives
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp good nutmeg

Directions:

  1. Prepare pie crust in a tart pan (or pie tin) and par-bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. If using a butter or lard-based recipe, I suggest using pie weights. If using the olive oil crust, you shouldn’t need them as it doesn’t shrink much.
  2. Steam the sweet potatoes until they can be pierced very easily with a knife tip. You could boil them, but I find that this makes them mushier. Set aside to cool.
  3. At the same time, sauté the onion and shallot in a small frying pan over medium heat with the oil. You want them to brown, not burn, so if needed, add a little water to the frying pan and turn down the heat. Once they’re looking caramelized and soft, set aside.
  4. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle with your hands, mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Fold in the eggs, the onions and shallots, and the chives. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
  5. Spread into the par-baked pie crust and bake for another 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve warm. Serves 4 – 6.