Vanilla Bean-Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 lbs medium sweet potatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise, seeds scraped
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper or powdered sugar (to taste)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. 2

   Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork and bake for about 35 minutes, or until tender.

3. 3

   Let cool slightly, then peel and transfer them to a food processor.

4. 4

   Puree until fairly smooth.

5. 5

   In a small saucepan, combine the cream with the butter and the vanilla bean and seeds. Bring to a simmer.

6. 6

   Remove the vanilla bean.

7. 7

   With the processor on, carefully pour the vanilla cream into the sweet potatoes and process until smooth.

8. 8

   Season the sweet potato puree as desired with salt and pepper or sugar, transfer to a bowl and serve.