Weekly Recipe: Sweet Potato Souffle

I LOVE sweet potatoes.  I recently saw this recipe and was intrigued.  If you are feeling adventurous, making a souffle is not really that difficult.  Just follow the directions and hey, even if it doesn't look pretty, it will still taste good.

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Cooking spray
1/4  cup granulated sugar, divided
2  medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound, 12 ounces)
2  tablespoons butter, softened
1/4  cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
1/2  cup half-and-half
1  tablespoon grated orange rind
1/3  cup fresh orange juice
1/4  cup packed dark brown sugar
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4  teaspoon salt
2  large egg yolks
5  large egg whites

Position oven rack to lowest setting, and remove the middle rack. Preheat oven to 425°.

Coat a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; arrange on paper towels in microwave oven. Microwave at high 10 minutes or until tender, rearranging potatoes after 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Peel potatoes. Combine potatoes and butter, and mash with a potato masher until smooth.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, potato mixture, half-and-half, and next 6 ingredients (through egg yolks) in a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl.

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with a mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into potato mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dish. Sharply tap dish 2 or 3 times on the counter to level. Place dish on a baking sheet; place baking sheet in a 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove soufflé from oven). Bake 1 hour or until soufflé is puffy, golden, and set. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 259(26% from fat); FAT 7.5g (sat 4.3g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 6.9g; CHOLESTEROL 88mg; CALCIUM 84mg; SODIUM 414mg; FIBER 3.1g; IRON 1.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41g