Castellon's Kitchen: Lemon Ginger Sweet Potatoes

Full disclosure... I am not a fan of Thanksgiving yams/sweet potatoes or any of the marshmallow coated casseroles that are so popular this time of year. But last year, I had a sweet potato dish made by my friend, Carina. They were sweet but not overly sweet. They had a hint of citrus, which I thought was orange, but she used lemon, not orange. They were so subtle and sweet and just down right delicious and a nice complement to all the creamy gravy laden dishes of Thanksgiving yummy-ness. I've been wanting to make a version of her sweet potatoes since last year and that time is finally here. I used her basic recipe of sweet potatoes baked in a brown sugar syrup with lemon slices topping them. I added some ginger, garlic and herbs to complement the lemon and the sweetness of the potatoes and it turned out amazing. Thank you Carina for the inspiration with your delicious recipe.
🦃Happy Thanksgiving!🦃

Lemon Ginger Sweet Potatoes

Serves 6-8

1.5-2 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams with similar diameter(about 2 lbs)
2-3 lemons, sliced into 1/4" slices
salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (to taste)
Simple brown sugar syrup(see recipe below)
Compound butter(see recipe below)

Prepare Simple Syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2-3 slices of fresh peeled ginger
lemon peel of one lemon

Add sugar, water, ginger and lemon peel into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, until sugar is completely dissolved. Turn heat down and let simmer for 10 minutes. Do not strain lemon or ginger from the syrup, leaving it in intensifies the flavors. Let syrup cool and place an air tight container . Refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made up to 3-5 days in advance.

Prepare Compound Butter
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T fresh oregano, finely chopped
3 T fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use. Can be made up to 3-5 days in advance.

Prepare Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice fresh lemon into 1/4" slices, removing seeds from slices and set aside. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into 1/4" rounds and add to a large mixing bowl. Generously salt and pepper sweet potatoes. Add cayenne pepper to taste. Note: A quick sprinkle of cayenne elevates the lemon and ginger without much heat.

Add simple syrup to the sliced sweet potatoes and mix until well coated.

Spray 9"x 13" casserole dish with cooking spray. Begin stacking sliced potatoes like poker chips into casserole dish, alternating with an occasional fresh lemon slice.
Remove lemon and ginger slices from the remaining simple syrup in the mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of simple syrup over sweet potatoes.

Top with the compound butter, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. At 30 minutes, remove foil and bake an another 30-40 minutes. Check, adding more time if needed. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes and serve.