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Escalloped Sweet Potatoes
Peel and slice thin. In a shallow tin put a layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, a little sugar and bits of butter, then another layer of potato, then seasoning until the tin is full. Cover sparingly with water or milk and bake very slowly.
A layered gratin with no quantities given, which is normal for the period — the tin dictates the amount. The only real variables are slice thickness and oven heat.
- Slice thinness is the hingeSweet potato cooked in shallow liquid at low heat softens slowly, and thick slices stay firm in the middle long after the top has browned. Cut at about 1/8 inch, ideally on a mandoline, so every layer collapses together.
- "Very slowly" means 300-325F"Very slowly" means a low oven -- roughly 300-325F on a modern dial; the recipe gives no temperature and no time. Expect something in the range of an hour to an hour and a half for a dish 2 inches deep, judged by a knife through the centre.
- The shallow tinAny shallow baking dish of 8 by 8 or 9 by 13 inches works. Depth matters more than material — keep the layers under 2 inches or the centre will still be raw when the surface is done.
- Water or milkMilk gives a soft, faintly custardy set and browns sooner; water lets the sweet potato flavour stand alone and stays looser. "Cover sparingly" is ambiguous but clearly means a small amount rather than a submerged dish; the potatoes give off liquid as they cook.
- Sugar in proportionThe moist orange-fleshed sweet potatoes usual in modern shops are generally sweeter than the drier, paler kinds, which were widely used when recipes like this were written. A teaspoon of sugar spread across the whole dish is plenty; more will taste like dessert.
- Covering and browningFoil over the dish for the first two-thirds keeps the top from drying before the interior softens, then uncover to brown. The original gives no instruction either way.
- Quantities and yieldThe recipe gives none. As a starting point, about 2 lb sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons butter, salt to taste and just enough liquid to moisten rather than submerge the layers fills a 9-inch dish and serves about six as a side.