Sweet Potato Casserole

I still remember the day when I tried sweet potato casserole for the first time. It was in Washington, D.C. at a Friendsgiving gathering during law school.
My friend topped his sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and while I gamely gave it a try, I just couldn’t get past how overly sweet and mushy the marshmallows made the dish. To me, melted marshmallows belong in s’mores and rice krispies treats.
When I started making sweet potato casseroles for my own Thanksgivings, I decided to skip the marshmallows altogether and topped my casserole with a nutty pecan crumble instead. I love how this adds a crunchy contrast to the creamy sweet potatoes in this classic holiday dish.
For the sweet potato casserole I’m sharing today, I ended up adding orange zest to the filling. This was a suggestion from Elise when she tasted one of my test batches, and her instincts were spot on. The orange zest gives a wonderful brightness to the casserole.
I used the zest from an entire orange, but if you feel skeptical about orange flavors in your sweet potato casserole, feel free to leave it out or use half of the zest instead.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes


• 1/2 cup milk


• 1/3 cup maple syrup


• 1 large egg


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• Zest from 1 medium orange

For the crumble topping:

• 3/4 cup chopped pecans


• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour


• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar


• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Special equipment:

• 2-quart baking dish


• Food processor

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