Holiday Recipes!

It's that time of year again! I know I'm a bit behind on posting this, but here are a few of the dishes that made the table at this year's Thanksgiving. There were a lot of repeats from last year, like the Brussels Sprouts and Apples and the Warm Butternut Squash and Arugula, my mother-in-law's Wild Rice Salad, Oatmeal Crunch Apple Crisp...they've definitely become staples.  I did decide to give Pure Food and Wine's raw, vegan Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart a shot and we changed up my mother's traditional "candied yams" (or sweet potatoes with marshmallows and corn flakes, of course) to a slightly healthier version. These are all great ideas for your Christmas dinner in a few weeks!

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Serves 6

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (or less if you're not a big ginger fan)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil  

1/2 cup marshmallows

1/2 cup corn flakes

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Oil a medium-sized casserole dish. Wrap each sweet potato in foil, pierce numerous times with a fork and place in the oven for about an hour, until each is baked through (you should be able to slide a knife through the center flesh easily). Remove the potatoes from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes, then cut each sweet potato in half. Scrape the flesh into a large mixing bowl and mash the sweet potatoes with the coconut milk. Stir in the ginger, maple syrup and salt. Let sit for a few minutes, stir again and taste - adjust the seasoning if you need to. 

Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and bake uncovered until warm, roughly 30 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the marshmallows and corn flakes, alternating each in diagonal rows. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or so until the marshmallows toast and brown slightly.

Pure Food and Wine's Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart

Serves 6

For the tart crust:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup fine almond flour

1/2 cup maple syrup crystals

1/4 cup coconut butter

pinch of sea salt

In a standard mixer with a paddle attachment, mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined into a dough. You can do this by hand as well, with a wooden spoon in a large bowl. Press the dough evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill 1 hour or more.

For the ganache filling:

2 1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup coconut butter

Blend all of the filling ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste the ganache to make sure it's not grainy. If needed, blend further until completely smooth. Pour into the chilled tart crust. Place in the refrigerator to chill and set at least 3 hours.

For the vanilla cream:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 hours or more

1 cup coconut meat

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut butter

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean

1/4 tsp salt

Blend all the ingredients until completely smooth. Transfer to a separate container and refrigerate to chill and set, 2 hours or more.

Cut the tart into 12 slices (running the knife under hot water between each slice) and top each slice with a spoonful of the vanilla cream. I could not get enough of this!! Unbelievably decadent.