When I was writing The Jewish Holiday Kitchen in 1979, I included my family’s modern take on a traditional sweet-potato tsimmes, which includes pineapples and marshmallows—unconventional ingredients in a Jewish recipe. The press loved the book, with one exception: In Kirkus, the reviewer suggested that my sweet-potato tsimmes with pineapple and marshmallows was more suitable for Thanksgiving than one for Sukkot, as I had categorized it. The recipe, she said, was quintessentially American. She wasn’t wrong, entirely: To me, the dish—both American and Jewish—was a must at Sukkot, back in my Sukkah-building days, when my children were young, and it was and is a must at our Thanksgiving table, too.
Sweet-Potato Tsimmes With Pineapple and Marshmallows
April 02, 2021
Ingredients
- 4sweet potatoes, about 4 pounds
- 2tablespoons butter or pareve margarine
- One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
- ½teaspoon salt
- 1tablespoon brown sugar
- Paprika or marshmallows
Yield: 6-8 servings
Preparation
- Step 1
Put the sweet potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender all the way through. When done, cool, peel, and mash. Stir in the butter or margarine followed by the pineapple, salt, and brown sugar. The recipe until this point can be prepared ahead of time.
- Step 2
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a medium casserole dish. Spoon in the mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Either sprinkle with paprika, or for a sweeter taste, place the marshmallows on top, pressing them gently into the sweet potatoes, and cook 10 minutes more, or until the marshmallows are golden brown.
Adapted from Pearl Nathan