Cinnamon Honey Sweet Potato Pie

 

A classic recipe emerged from a trip to the local Farmer's market. Walnut Hill Farm had a plethora of earthy, massive sweet potatoes spilling out of buckets on the table so I picked up a few to work with. I also made a stop by one of my favorite vendors, Alfredo’s Honey, and picked up a tub of whipped cinnamon honey (I think I am working on my 7th tub from him).  The two market picks just seem to be a marriage made in heaven, right? Having not made a sweet potato pie before, I did a little research online and found a recipe that seemed to be in-line with what I had in the pantry and what I had picked up from the market.  I modified it slightly by using a homemade gluten-free crust which will be featured on glutenfreerichmond.com, my new website created with a fellow Richmonder and lover of all things tasty and gluten-free. I also changed up the cinnamon portions since I was working with a cinnamon flavored honey. Here’s my take:

Cinnamon Honey Sweet Potato Pie
Filling Ingredients:

2 large, roasted sweet potatoes removed from skin (about 3 cups)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup Alfredo’s local cinnamon honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup melted butter

Preparation:
Start by dry roasting the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet in an oven set to 375° for about 50-60 minutes or until soft to the touch. Once cooled, scrape flesh from skin and place into a food processor, pulse until broken down. Add remaining ingredients, except butter and pulse until smooth. With the food processor on, drizzle in melted butter until combined.

Fill a par-baked, gluten-free pie crust (will fill a 10″ pie) and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean or the center of the pie should spring back when touched.

Farmer's Market Omelette

It’s so satisfying to bike over to the neighborhood Farmer’s Market to pick up a few fresh ingredients for breakfast.  At South of the James you can find every ingredient needed for a hearty, healthy start-to-the-day.  My quest started with fresh eggs so I ended up at Deer Run Farm of Amelia where my husband got a lesson in ground meat for burgers from a friend of the farm (she raved so much about the farm we thought she was an employee) and I learned about their grass-fed, grass-finished beef and the health benefits of eating eggs from their free-range hens.   It was a perfect stop, start to finish, so we walked away with a dozen eggs for omelettes and a brochure for ordering ahead for next week.

Deciding on an omelette was the easy part of the morning, choosing what to fill it with took a little more time.  Spinach & mushrooms?  Tomatoes and peppers?  Luckily, across the way from Deer Run Farm was a group I hadn’t seen before, Manakintowne Specialty Growers.  They had a great set up, tables and baskets full of fresh herbs.  They also had little bits of information typed out on paper for some of the less recognizable greens, one of which was a few bunches of garlic scapes.  The woman manning the table told me they added delicious but mild garlic flavor and were a great accompaniment to spinach or squash.  So I grabbed a bunch and went off in search of the final additions – a shiitake mushroom from Casselmonte Farm (purchased by the ounce), a container of baby squash and zucchini and a bunch of basil from Victory FarmsVictory Farms and finally, some goat cheese from Bonnyclabber Cheese Company.

Here’s how it all came together:

Farmer’s Market Omelette

Prep Time: 5 minutes       Cook Time:  10 minutes
Serves: 2

4 farm fresh eggs
1 tbsp water
1 baby squash, diced
1 baby zucchini, diced
1 shiitake mushroom, diced
2 garlic scapes, bulb discarded and green stem diced
6 basil leaves, sliced in ribbons
salt and pepper
2 ounces goat cheese (or however much or little you like)
Start by heating a non-stick omelette pan that has been sprayed with canola cooking oil over medium-high heat.  Add the zucchini, squash and mushrooms to sauté, season with salt and pepper.  While the veggies cook, whisk the eggs with water until fully incorporated. Once a good color has developed on the squash, add the chopped garlic and basil and stir to distribute evenly.  Cook for an additional minute and then transfer the cooked veggies to a dish and set to the side.
In the same pan, add half the eggs for one omelette and turn the pan to evenly distribute.  Using a spatula, skim the outer edge of the pan and force the uncooked egg to the side until all liquid is cooked through.  Next, scatter half the sauteed vegetables and herbs in the center of the omelette and top with goat cheese.  Using the spatula, gently fold both sides over the center to close and then transfer the omelette to the serving plate.  Enjoy while hot!