Sweet Potato Confit With Chorizo and Crème Fraîche

Name: Sweet Potato Confit With Chorizo and Crème Fraîche
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 (8-ounce) container crème fraîche; 2 tablespoons lemon or yuzu juice; 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 or 3); Kosher salt; Ground black pepper; About 3 cups olive oil, depending on the size of the baking dish; 1/2 cup bacon fat (optional); 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/2 pound spicy fresh chorizo; 1/2 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped; 1/4 cup mint leaves, torn

Recipe from Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman

Adapted by Kim Severson

Sweet Potato Confit With Chorizo and Crème Fraîche — Andrea Morales for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Rating: 4(87)
Notes: Read community notes

Chefs have a way of taking the most humble ingredient and elevating it, which is what Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman of Hog & Hominy in Memphis did with sweet potatoes. The trick is to confit thick slices slow in fat, which transforms the texture into silk. They use pork fat at their restaurants, but home cooks can get a similar effect with olive oil seasoned with some bacon fat. It works well with olive oil alone, too. The chefs also make their own chorizo, and mix up their own crème fraîche with heavy cream and buttermilk, then spike it with yuzu. Home cooks can make things more reasonable using pre-made chorizo and store-bought crème fraîche with a hit of lemon juice (though yuzu is better if you can find it). The confit itself can be done a day or two ahead of time. Just lift the sweet potato slices from the oil and chill them. (To save a few minutes, you can toast the pecans in the oven as you bake the sweet potatoes.) A last note: It does seem like a daunting amount of olive oil, so a reasonably inexpensive brand will do. The leftover oil can be saved in the refrigerator to slick the bottom of the sauté pan or round out a pasta sauce for future meals. —Kim Severson

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

1(8-ounce) container crème fraîche
2tablespoons lemon or yuzu juice
2pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 or 3)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
About 3 cups olive oil, depending on the size of the baking dish
½cup bacon fat (optional)
2tablespoons unsalted butter
½pound spicy fresh chorizo
½cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
¼cup mint leaves, torn

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a small bowl, mix together crème fraîche and citrus juice and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the dish. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2
Scrub but do not peel the sweet potatoes, then slice into ½-inch-thick disks. Place in a single layer in one large baking dish, or in 2 smaller baking dishes if all the slices won’t fit. (A few slices can overlap, but keep this to a minimum.) Season well with salt and black pepper. Pour in enough olive oil to just cover slices. If a few edges are exposed, don’t worry. If also using bacon fat, pour or spoon it over the slices.
Step 3
Bake for 1 hour or until fork tender. Remove the baking dish from the oven, let the oil cool slightly, then carefully remove the slices with a slotted spatula, letting most of the oil drip back into the baking dish before placing the slices on a plate or sheet pan. Reserve 4 tablespoons oil and set aside. (At this point the slices can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Step 4
In a large, heavy skillet, place 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil, the butter and the chorizo over medium heat. Cook, breaking up the sausage into the smallest bits you can and stirring occasionally to render the fat, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 5
Heat another large sauté pan, or a griddle over medium-high heat, and add the sweet potato slices in batches, frying a couple of minutes on each side until they start to crisp and caramelize. (The sweet potatoes can cook in the pan without additional fat, but if they are sticking, you can use a bit more of the reserved oil.) Add sweet potatoes and pecans to the pan with the chorizo and gently turn the slices a few times until they are well coated, being careful not to break them.
Step 6
Remove sweet potatoes to a serving plate, spoon remaining chorizo-pecan mixture evenly over the slices, then add small dollops of creme fraîche. Sprinkle with torn mint leaves. Serve immediately, with any remaining crème fraîche on the side.

Ratings

4 out of 5

87 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Rustin Moo6 years ago

Why do people share notes on recipes they've never cooked. Just made this, as directed. Incredibly delicious. Will make it again.

Sharon Knettell6 years ago

I think it needs the 1/2 cup of bacon fat to add to the 3 cups of olive oil , then it could be called "Olive Oil and Bacon Fat Stew with Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes."

tal6 years ago

For the greater good, I'll point out that the sweet potato in the picture appears to be what most supermarkets label a yam. In fact these so called yams in supermarkets are in fact sweet potatoes. (True yams are somewhat hard to find because, compared to sweet potatoes, yams don't taste very good.) A sweet potato has tapered ends and thin, smooth skin and flesh that can range from light beige to orange-ish or even purple-ish.

Christopher C5 years ago

Made this for my guests at Easter Brunch. When we were done eating, I asked which of the seven courses they would make for their own guests. This recipe was the unanimous choice. Everyone was surprised at how the disparate flavors worked so well together. But it sure is a lot of work. I did the sweet potatoes in oil the night before and stored overnight. Worked just fine.

Colleen Dunn6 years ago

I took this dish and made it in a few different ways. The first time, I made it pretty much as written, for a dinner party at my parent’s house. The second time I roasted the sweet potatoes instead of making a confit. Last night, 8 made sweet potato pasta dough which I turned into ravioli. I sautéed some andouille sausage with pecans, and that became the ravioli filling. The creme fraiche/lemon was drizzled on as a sauce, with mint leaves for garnish. Paired well with a 2007 Nerello Mescalese.

Anna1 year ago

So great! Used Trader Joe’s vegetarian chorizo. Baker it at 350 for 15 minutes then left it in the oven for 2 hours to see a movie and the consistency of the sweet potato was perfect.

Sarah3 years ago

Well this was outstanding. Definitely a "make this when you want to impress somebody" meal. I think this definitely makes an appetizer-sized serving, so in hindsight, I would have not cut the recipe in thirds for the two of us. I didn't have enough EVOO to cover the potatoes fully, so I bet that would make it even better. Made homemade creme fraiche using Chef John's recipe.

Carla3 years ago

I used left over fat/drippings from the Christmas ham -- worked really well.

stephanie4 years ago

i would actually like to make the long version of this recipe, making my own chorizo (which i have done before and is pretty easy so i'd like to try their recipe!) and creme fraiche. would love if NYT would revisit this and share the details if Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman would be willing to volunteer them :)

Suz4 years ago

I definitely will try. Anything by Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman will be delish. They take simple and local and make it taste extraordinary.

Magpie4 years ago

What does the peanut gallery think of using goose fat? (I have a lot left over from Christmas.)

BobbieH4 years ago

I live in California. A suggestion to name the kind of chorizo. Fresh Mexican chorizo is available but I have to order Spanish chorizo online (none available locally). Having it in the ingredients list would be wonderful. Two things: 1) Yippee, I'm making this with Mexican chorizo. 2) Commenters, please don't be snarky with me for asking. Between the picture and step 4 I figured it out but it would be nice to have it listed in the ingredients.

stephanie4 years ago

it says fresh chorizo in the ingredient list. spanish chorizo isn't fresh (i.e. raw). (not being snarky, simply pointing out that they did specify the variety.)

Christopher C5 years ago

Kim6 years ago

Outrageously delicious, no bacon fat, reduced the oil so that potatoes were covered but not swimming, spur cream might even better.

Rustin Moo6 years ago

Why do people share notes on recipes they've never cooked. Just made this, as directed. Incredibly delicious. Will make it again.

Colleen Dunn6 years ago

David Levinson6 years ago

These potatoes are to die for. I couldn't wait for the next day, so I fried some and ate them by themselves.

Sheri6 years ago

Wow, way to take healthy ingredients and totally make them unhealthy.

tal6 years ago

Sharon Knettell6 years ago

I think it needs the 1/2 cup of bacon fat to add to the 3 cups of olive oil , then it could be called "Olive Oil and Bacon Fat Stew with Chorizo and Sweet Potatoes."

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