Happy New Year to my beloved readers! The holidays were great, but I am happy to be back in my routine and on track food-wise. Today was my first day totally on plan in a long, long time. I received a plethora of cookbooks for Christmas, so I am starting to crack them open to find some tasty new recipes. I was most excited about getting Heidi Swanson's first cookbook - Super Natural Cooking. When I saw this spoon bread recipe, I knew that I couldn't live without trying it. I had never tried spoon bread before, but the idea of a casserole-like dish with sweet potatoes and goat cheese was exciting to me. I was surprised by the texture (like a cross between stuffing and mashed potatoes - in a good way), but the taste was as fantastic as I envisioned. It could be served as an entree with a green salad or as a side dish.
I'm posting the recipe now, because I want you all to see its sweet orange-y beauty, but I do think that I can get the points down a bit lower. Maybe a little less butter? I'll play around with it next time I make it and edit the recipe if I can drop a few points.
Original inspiration: Super Natural Cooking
Servings: 6 generous portions
WW: 9 points plus per serving
Ingredients:
3 cooked medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled (I baked up some sweet potatoes last night and then just scooped out the flesh when I started cooking tonight)
1/3 cup unsalted butter
4 large shallots
6 ounces goat cheese
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole-wheat flour)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup boiling water
3 large eggs
Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 2 quart casserole dish.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat and then add the shallots. Cook the shallots, stirring frequently, until they are golden and the butter has browned, which should take 8-10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the goat cheese with a fork until it is fluffy and light. I needed to add a tablespoon of water, since my goat cheese was a bit dry.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Begin to add the boiling water slowly, first making a paste and then just working to make sure it is all incorporated. It is OK if the batter is a bit lumpy. Add 3 cups of the sweet potatoes to the bowl and blend. Stir in the shallots and browned butter. Then, stir in one egg at a time and mix until well combined.
Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with the whipped goat cheese. Using a spatula, press the goat cheese into the mixture and even out the top of the sweet potatoes. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the goat cheese begins to color and the sweet potatoes have set.
Heidi Swanson recommends serving the spoon bread topped with a little Parmesan cheese, but I found it unnecessary. The sweetness from the potatoes and tang of the goat cheese didn't need anything extra. Enjoy!
