Sweet Potato

I get no greater satisfaction than knowing we've snuck some sweet potatoes and red cabbage onto the dessert menu at Vedge. This dish was originally inspired by a trip to the Czech Republic, where I enjoyed plum dumplings dusted in powdered sugar and served with vegan sour cream. Here, we fill our turnovers with candied whipped sweet potato, and the kraut garnish offers a nice bright note from the sweet Riesling. If you want to go all out, try serving them with a dollop of vegan sour cream whipped with a little powdered sugar and orange zest.

Vegan When it comes to sweet potatoes, American cuisine needs some imagination, and these irresistible burgers are here to help. Just throw a cooked sweet potato into your trusty food processor, along with chickpeas, scallions, and spices, and buzz it into orange tastiness. Two complementary iterations of quinoa (whole cooked grains and flour) step in to balance the sweetness—and also to hold the burgers together—while upping the protein and calcium content. Green pea polka dots round it out in every way, making this taste and color fest even more fun and interesting. • Be sure to use the moist, orange variety of sweet potato (not the drier, starchier white type). • Regarding the quinoa flour: Don't panic. Just get out the inexpensive electric coffee grinder that you dedicated to spice grinding, wipe it out thoroughly, and add 6 tablespoons of whole quinoa. Buzz for less than 5 seconds, and you've got your ingredient—probably slightly more than the amount you'll need for the recipe. • If you're using fresh peas, they'll need to be steamed or blanched for about 5 minutes. Frozen ones require only to be defrosted in a strainer— a brief encounter with room-temperature tap water, then a shake to dry. Either of these steps can be done ahead. • Begin cooking the sweet potato well ahead of time, so it can cool before you assemble the batter. This is also a good use for leftover plain mashed sweet potatoes. You'll need 2 cups. • Toasting cumin seeds is most easily done in a small, dry skillet over low heat. Shake the pan as you go and pay careful attention. It takes only a few minutes to toast them—and a blink of an eye beyond that to irreparably burn them. You can use the same pan (and same method) to toast the peanuts, if you wish. • If you're cooking the burgers in batches, keep the finished ones warm on a baking sheet or an ovenproof plate in a 250°F oven while you make the rest. • These freeze and reheat beautifully after they've been cooked.

Susan O'Brien (adapted by Lori Sobelson) With yams, black beans, and amaranth, these burritos are seriously hearty fare. For a gluten-free meal, use brown rice tortillas, and for a vegan one, use a vegan sour cream substitute.

"To save time, make the potato sauce a day ahead and refrigerate," Bemis says.

Feel free to play with different herbs in the chimichurri recipe—that's what these brothers and co-chefs have always done: "When we were younger, our mom would buy lots of herbs, but she'd never use them," says Michael. "So we'd just blend them with garlic, oil, and vinegar."

Sautéing is another fast way to make a meal, especially when the pan juices are turned into a sweet and savory sauce, as they are here. This comforting dish features an array of autumn ingredients—apples, fennel, and sweet potatoes—roasted in the oven to caramelize lightly and bring their sugars to the forefront. The sauce, which mingles apple cider with the meaty browned bits in the skillet, is sharpened with a bit of Dijon mustard to balance the sweetness.

And who, pray tell, is this exotic culinary adventuress named Bella? My eight-year-old Portuguese water dog. For a long time now, she's loved carrots. She literally comes running every time she hears the carrot peeler come out of the drawer. My husband and I thought, "Hmm, that's different for a dog," and played the approving parents. Recently, she's expanded her palate to sweet potatoes. No sooner do they hit the counter than she's singing and dancing around my feet. I quarter and square off the potatoes and fling the ends at her, and she's been known to get some serious hang time as she leaps for them. Seriously, Air Bud's got nothing on Bella. Maybe she heard about how healthful sweet potatoes are: their natural sweetness is perfectly balanced with high fiber content, slowing the rush of sugar into the bloodstream, which is great for the vascular system, and for mood. My experience says that's true; whenever I make this salad, Bella's awfully happy.

This zesty mayo dip would also go well with sliced red bell peppers and celery sticks before dinner; it's amazing how many vegetables kids will eat when they're actually hungry.

Short ribs, aromatic vegetables and herbs braise in wine-infused sauce until the meat nearly falls off the bone, and is served with a smashing combination of mixed fall vegetables.

A homemade chicken stock spiced with a Scotch bonnet or habanero chile lays the foundation for this tropical dish. Coconut powder and sweet potatoes add to the island feel. “It’s a sweet soup and is more appropriate as an appetizer than an entrée, though I have to admit I’ve indulged in several bowls for dinner,” Epicurious member JTucci says. Although Tucci calls it a soup, the coconut chicken broth will be scant—just enough to cover the chicken and cabbage at the bottom of the bowl.

Epicurious member Eileen La Mendola tells us that her husband’s family preferred their sweet potatoes roasted and topped with melted marshmallows. But it was her husband who inspired this revamped version of the family classic featuring bourbon and pecans. It’s been a hit ever since.

Transform a traditional holiday side into something bold and beautiful using smoked paprika (hot or sweet) and cayenne. This dish couldn’t be simpler to prepare, requiring just a handful of ingredients and yielding a result that’s sweet, savory, and delicious.

Here’s a sweet Southern dish from the heart of Texas; the recipe originated from the Dallas-based mother of a friend of Epicurious member Tina Jones. The spuds are baked with a blend of milk, vanilla, sugar, and butter, and topped with a crunchy walnut topping. This goes with almost any roasted meat.

Had your fill of sweet potatoes made even sweeter with brown sugar? These quick-baked sweet potato “chips” flip the script with garlic and melt-in-the-mouth fried sage. Serve as colorful hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party; as a crisp side course for barbecued pork, roasted turkey, or a holiday ham or tenderloin; or as a stand-in for movie popcorn on the couch with a beer on a chilly Friday night. Not bad for a recipe that only takes 25 minutes and four ingredients.

This summery way to serve yams is great with hoisin-glazed ribs or pork chops. Experiment by swapping the spuds for rice to create another filling vegetarian meal, or serve the creamy dressing as a dip for chicken satay.

This dish draws on both Mediterranean and Asian influences and uses the very different flavors of sage, miso, and nori in complementary ways. It's a brain-healthy recipe: legumes such as lentils are a key component of the Mediterranean diet, both kale and onions are good sources of polyphenol antioxidants, and sweet potato supplies a dose of beta-carotene.

The complex, bittersweet syrup for these roasted sweet potatoes is inspired by Southern redeye gravy.