By Nicole Taylor
- Total Time
- 1¾ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- 4(433)
- Notes
- Read community notes
George Washington Carver, the botanist, educator and inventor, was known as “the peanut man,” but he geeked out over sweet potatoes as much as peanuts. He recorded recipes for sweet potato flour, sweet potato starch and commercial canning. “The delicate flavor of a sweet potato is lost if it is not cooked properly,” he wrote in his 1936 Bulletin No. 38. (His paper booklets were distributed to rural farmers to assist with crop rotation and provide instructions for added-value products.) Dr. Carver considered baking the best way to cook sweet potatoes while preserving the most flavor. Use varieties like Covington, Vardaman or jewel; the sugary notes balance the alliums and warming spices. Raw vegetables or tortilla chips make practical dipping utensils for this spread, or lather the dip over toasted thick-cut bread.
Featured in: When Only Homegrown Sweet Potatoes Will Do
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings (about 4 cups)
- 2pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
- 2tablespoons grapeseed oil
- ½medium white onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1small fennel bulb, sliced (about ⅓ cup), fronds reserved for garnish
- ½small jalapeño, finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
- ⅓cup fresh ricotta
- ⅓cup grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
- ⅓cup raw pecans, chopped
- 1tablespoon fresh lime juice (from ½ lime)
- 2teaspoons maple syrup
- 1½teaspoons anchovy oil (optional)
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½teaspoon onion powder
- ½teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓piece whole fresh nutmeg, grated (about 1 teaspoon)
- Extra-virgin olive oil and crispy fried onions (optional), for garnish
- Toasted Agege bread, tortilla chips or celery sticks, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
334 calories; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 41 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 534 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Using a vegetable brush and water, scrub the sweet potatoes to remove dirt, then place them on a sheet pan.
Step
2
Bake the sweet potatoes on the top rack until soft to the touch, about 1¼ hours. Let cool for at least 1 hour.
Step
3
Add grapeseed oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Add sliced onion, fennel and jalapeño to the skillet and sauté for 15 minutes or until onions are soft and slightly browned. Set aside and let cool room temperature.
Step
4
Using your hands, gently peel the sweet potatoes and discard the skins. In a large bowl, use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until you see tiny chunks. (The texture shouldn’t be ultrasmooth.)
Step
5
Using a spoon, stir in the cooked onion mixture along with the ricotta, Parmesan, pecans, lime juice, maple syrup, anchovy oil (if using), salt, onion powder, vanilla and nutmeg. Store the dip in an airtight container, and place in the fridge until ready to eat. (If you have the time, the flavors are always better the next day.)
Step
6
Just before serving, stir to combine and season the dip to taste with salt. Drizzle it with olive oil, then top it with the reserved fennel fronds and crispy fried onions, if you like. Serve with any combination of bread, tortilla chips or celery sticks.
Ratings
4
out of 5
433
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Cooking Notes
Amy
Wow!!!!!! This is delicious. I made it today as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. Only made a few changes based on my pantry. I used 1 1/2 Vidalia onions (I'm from Georgia) and 2 small fennel bulbs. I caramelized them for a good 30 minutes. I did not use the anchovy oil. I was curious about this recipe because it seem to have all the right ingredients...and was most certainly correct! I can't wait to serve it.
Jennifer from Maine
Great on pita chips. Used leftovers as a ravioli stuffing served with a butter/sage/cinnamon sauce. The dip was excellent, but we liked the ravioli even better.
Grace
I made this for Thanksgiving, like most, and it was a hit! I didn’t use fennel or jalapeño, but wish I would’ve added the former. I also caramelized the onions. Served this slightly warm with ritz and celery sticks. Best part is that I added flour to the leftovers and made some bomb gnocchi.
CL
I made 1/2 recipe - about 2 cups but nobody really liked it on its own for crisp veg, but really popular with pita chips and toasted baguette slices.I mixed about 1 cup with 1 cup hummus and it was gone in a flash!If I make it again, I will add some black beans and use it as empanada filling.
keely
I made this for thanksgiving as an appetizer. Definitely make it the day before so flavors meld and come forward. I doubled everything but the sweet potatoes as many suggested and also diced rather than sliced the onion and fennel. The texture seemed weird so I put it in a food processor and blended it together. It was super tasty and a hit. Will definitely make again.
kwaz
Odd flavors here - maybe if it was served warm, it would be toastier but it basically just tasted like lots of mashed sweet potatoes to me.
keely
Double everything but the sweet potatoes
Kathy Gallagher
Disappointing! I always read the comments first. Despite increasing and caramelizing the onions and fennel and boosting everything else, it just tastes like sweet potatoes. Blah. I would also agree that the onions and fennel should be chopped because the big pieces don’t lend themselves well to a dip.It’s August, and maybe it would be great made into ravioli but the timing just isn’t right. I won’t be making this again.
Yasmine
A bit heavy for a dip. Tasty on sourdough bread. Great as a ravioli filling with a brown butter sage sauce.
Kim
Oh! And used marscapone instead of ricotta because that it what we had.
Kim
Made this as written except halved the sweet potato (In effect, doubling everything else) and it was delicious. I might cut back a bit on the maple syrup but otherwise was delicious.
CL
I made 1/2 recipe - about 2 cups but nobody really liked it on its own for crisp veg, but really popular with pita chips and toasted baguette slices.I mixed about 1 cup with 1 cup hummus and it was gone in a flash!If I make it again, I will add some black beans and use it as empanada filling.
Ramona
Needs a lot more flavors...good, but I'd double up on onion, fennel, jalapeño, nutmeg...everything. Add ground up anchovies as well. Then, it was delicious, but started bland.
Dave
Any thoughts on replacing cheese with non-dairy options?
Mike Linton
Does anyone know this history of this dish? My guests found it surprisingly good.
KatW
I thought this bizarre collection of flavors would yield a transcendent dip - something I've never tasted before. It just tastes like sweet potato...
Maddie
Fantastic dip! And I’m not usually a fannel of fennel.
Ontario, Canada
So wanted to like this after reading all of the reviews. But should have paid heed to the one negative comment (but isn't there ALWAYS someone who has to be critical?). Made it exactly as written and all we could taste was sweet potato. Thankfully we had a second app ready to serve. Maybe it was just us? Love NYT Cooking though. It's become my go-to site for recipes.
Sheryl
Was looking forward to this, but something just didn’t work for me - would consider trying warm. Felt very heavy and starchy for a dip.
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