5 Ingredients or Fewer

Sweet Potatoes Anna with Prunes

by:
November 11, 2009
4.5
4 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 6-10
Author Notes

This can be finished with a dusting of sugar and a couple of minutes of broiling, for a brulee top. It can also be done using apples and prunes, or just apples. —mrsp

Test Kitchen Notes

This layered sweet potato gratin comes out of the oven caramelized on the edges and glistening with butter. The potatoes in the center are soft, their layers embedded with prunes; the ones around the edges are so crisp and sweet from the port, they taste candied. Slice the potatoes thinly -- use a mandoline if you have one -- and check the potatoes after 35 minutes in the oven. By 40 minutes, ours was perfect. - A&M —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 5-6 sweet potatoes, sliced very thinly using a mandoline
  • 1/2 pound butter
  • 1 cup port
  • 10 pitted prunes
Directions
  1. Melt 1/2 pound butter and clarify. (Skim off the foam & milk solids until all that remains is clear butterfat.)
  2. Heat a cup of port and soak ten pitted prunes until slightly plumped, about 20 minutes. Drain and chop the prunes coarsely.
  3. Preheat oven to 450.
  4. Brush clarified butter onto your favorite eight- or nine-inch round baking dish or oven-proof frying pan.
  5. Put a layer of potatoes, overlapping in circles, in the dish. Brush with clarified butter, and salt and pepper. Put another layer of potatoes and about half the prune pieces. Salt and pepper. Brush with clarified butter. Repeat two more layers, embedding the rest of the prunes at the end and brushing each layer with clarified butter and salt and pepper. You can do four layers of potatoes or six, it's up to you. Pack the potatoes tightly. If there's a little butter left at the end, it's no big deal.
  6. Bake at 450 for 45-60 minutes until crisp and tender.
  7. Remove from oven when crisp and tender. After a few minutes, flip onto a serving plate.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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    Elyse Matson
  • Kristy Zemball Powers
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    Jill Chamberlin

54 Reviews

hillary November 15, 2023
trying to coordinate multiple dishes and different cooking temps. wondering if anyone has let this sit awhile before serving or if this is best right out of the oven?
 
scorpion45 January 5, 2022
Wonderful dish, to enjoy with the family.
Buon Appetito!!
 
Elyse M. June 28, 2019
I've made this four years in a row for my family's thanksgiving. Highly recommend using a mandolin, I made it once without and I wasn't able to get the slices thin enough. Over the years I've made this with prunes, but also swapped them out for dried cherries! Equally delicious. Also stores really well for tasty leftovers!
 
pamela N. December 6, 2016
Made this for Thanksgiving...it was a smashing success! Even non-eaters of sweet potatoes tried it (after all the others were awed by the yumminess) and loved it. Will definitely make again. Used a mandoline and cooking time was fine. Thank you!
 
Douglas B. November 24, 2016
I have not made this dish in well over a year and am making it for thanksgiving. It is divine. sweet and savory. I loved reading the other things people have added below too. Thanks community
 
Kristy Z. January 25, 2014
We loved this recipe. I followed it to the tee each time I made it. It is a new standard in our house and in addition to following this recipe (Which is delicious), I also play around with it and make it several ways now. Sometimes I add crispy bacon, sauteed onions, or just plain with potatoes, ghee, salt and pepper. There are a a lot of possibilities with this recipe. Thanks so much!
 
Sewassbe December 24, 2013
I made this last christmas and while I loved the flavor (I added lots of black pepper), the sweet potatoes took FOREVER to cook. I had sliced them as thinly as possible by hand, but I think either parboiling them first, or using a mandoline slicer is really the key here. They were in the oven for over an hour, and were still nearly crunchy when I took them out (at a party, so that was stressful). Still - we used the leftovers with leftover pork roast and black beans and made the most wonderfully delicious stew. I loved the flavor of the sweet potatoes, prunes, and black pepper with the pork, bacon, and black beans. Yum!
 
Sujatha December 1, 2013
Wasnt impressed with this dish. Pureed the plums w/ some of the soaking port after they were cool, i think that worked better than pieces. But kind of blah beyond that. Decided to bake in a foil-wrapped 8-inch springform pan (which is NOT what directions specify) b/c i thought it would be easier to de-pan -- this was NOT a good idea, as the butter all leaked out of the pan and into the oven. Perhaps the flavor of the dish leaked out along with the butter???
 
noahluck December 9, 2012
Ugh, this was the first dish in a while that we simply threw away. It simply became a loose pile of plain sweet potato chips. Most of the instructions for this recipe are missing in retrospect, and the guesswork involved will lead to a wide variety of outcomes. I might try again and precook the sweet potatoes, or at least soak them.
 
artist342 December 6, 2012
I made this for a holiday dinner potluck last week,and it disappeared so fast that I didn't get any!!! I made a 12" version, and think 10" would be much easier to manage. It's fantastic, folks.
 
The P. November 21, 2012
Can I use ghee instead of clarified butter?
 
Layla C. January 5, 2014
Ghee is clarified butter.
 
Albickoff November 13, 2012
Is there anything that you can use other than port? Maybe something non-alcoholic?
 
thirschfeld November 13, 2012
hot water to soften them, more often then not, is how I do it.
 
FloraTheMachine November 22, 2014
Yes of course. You could soak them in something else for flavor.
 
Polly H. November 7, 2012
Peeled -- got it!
 
Jill C. November 5, 2012
What a great recipe! Perfect for T'sgiving. How far in advance can it be assembled?
 
Jill C. November 5, 2012
What a great T'giving recipe! how far in advance can it be assembled? The morning of?
 
artisanal April 3, 2012
I love how everyone commented on this being perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. To me, this sounds like the perfect spin on Passover tsimmes!
 
ChefJune June 28, 2012
Well, it lolks like Tzimmes to me, too. And I'm thinking of it for Rosh Hashanah. Sweet for the new year!
 
Jazzball January 20, 2012
SO much butter!! What about using olive oil instead?
 
deanna1001 December 26, 2011
So beautiful with the Christmas ham! I soaked the prunes in Madeira (I had on hand.) Fabulous!
 
Waverly December 25, 2011
This is a wonderful recipe. I made it over the holidays and everyone loved it.
 
BonEllen November 23, 2011
I'm making this tomorrow to bring to Thanksgiving... and wondering how folks have served this? Did you use a knife and cut it into pie-shaped wedges? Or can you scoop and serve with a spoon?
 
DP November 20, 2011
Made this today with raisins instead of prunes and added a pinch of ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. It was incredible!
 
DP November 20, 2011
Made this today with raisins instead of prunes and added a pinch of ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. It was incredible!
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
I saw a recipe in which the directions included, "reverse the direction of your layers to increase stability."
This might address the problem one cook experienced where it just slid apart. I haven't cooked the recipe yet, but that did seem like a good tip to add to the recipe's instructions.
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
Sorry about the repeats. This is my first time commenting, and I wasn't patient enough after hitting send.
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
I saw a recipe in which the directions included, "reverse the direction of your layers to increase stability."
This might address the problem one cook experienced where it just slid apart. I haven't cooked the recipe yet, but that did seem like a good tip to add to the recipe's instructions.
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
I saw a recipe in which the directions included, "reverse the direction of your layers to increase stability."
This might address the problem one cook experienced where it just slid apart. I haven't cooked the recipe yet, but that did seem like a good tip to add to the recipe's instructions.
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
I saw a recipe in which the directions included, "reverse the direction of your layers to increase stability."
This might address the problem one cook experienced where it just slid apart. I haven't cooked the recipe yet, but that did seem like a good tip to add to the recipe's instructions.
 
Hloper November 19, 2011
I saw a recipe in which the directions included, "reverse the direction of your layers to increase stability."
This might address the problem one cook experienced where it just slid apart. I haven't cooked the recipe yet, but that did seem like a good tip to add to the recipe's instructions.
 
mrsp November 17, 2011
I realize from one of the comments that the recipe should say "peeled sweet potatoes." Sorry about that.
 
Jennifer A. November 15, 2011
I have been coveting this recipe for over a year now, and finally have the perfect forum for it - my first Thanksgiving dinner! Cannot wait to delight my guests.
 
Gelfo October 1, 2011
I made this with Purple Japanese sweet potatoes and used raisins instead of prunes. YUM!!!!
 
boulangere September 26, 2011
Love at first sight.
 
familydinners February 17, 2011
Made this last night. I didn't use enough butter, but it was still good. Also, maybe sweet potatoes are bigger in Texas (ha!), but I only used 4 and it seemed too many. Even with these issues, everyone loved it. I'll definately make this again.
 
TakeThymeToCook November 26, 2010
This was incredible. I wasn't sure how it was going to taste when the top layer was a little crispy on the edges of some of the potato circles, and I couldn't taste any before I took it to my pot luck thanksgiving. When I finally took a bit I actually said "wow!" outloud, surprised at how incredible it turned out. This will be something I use many Christmases/Thanksgiving to come.

ps I used yams (we don't have orange sweet potatoes where I live). I know there are subtle differences, but it still was great!
 
susan_chervitz_migliorini November 25, 2010
I'm not sure what I did wrong! When I "flipped" the final product onto my serving dish, the entire thing just slid apart. It tasted wonderful, the presentation was just "lacking". Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
JenGnsbrg November 26, 2011
Did you use clarified butter or just melt the butter? One possible reason is the water in melted butter that has not been clarified tends to pull dishes like this a part. Clarifying the butter tends suck most of the water out of it allowing dishes to emulsify better. I haven't tried this recipe yet though so this is just a guess. Sounds amazing though!!!
 
melissav November 15, 2010
Excellent recipe. We made it last night and it will be gracing our Thanksgiving table next week. Many thanks.
 
thirschfeld November 2, 2010
I made this last night, really fantastic. I often add prunes to a potato gallete a la The French Laundry and this held its own and then some in my book. I soaked the prunes in cognac because I didn't have any port. These will go into the winter rotation thanks for sharing this recipe
 
bubblensqueak October 24, 2010
looks great- is this intended as a dessert, or a main course? also, i think the preparation of the potatoes is missing in the recipe.
 
AntoniaJames October 20, 2010
Why is clarified butter, instead of either simple melted butter, used in this recipe? Is there any reason not to use ghee, which is more flavorful? Also, is this dessert? Thanks! ;o)
 
drbabs November 23, 2010
I just made it with melted (not clarified) butter. It's wonderful.
 
Skylor P. April 15, 2010
I love sweet potatoes. I love prunes. What could be better than this? I have been cooking lots with sweet potatoes and curries, this will be a great turn in tastes.
 
Maria T. December 20, 2009
What an amazing combination, sweet potatoes and prunes, how delicious! Congratulations, I am really happy you got the prize.
 
Oui, C. December 17, 2009
This looks like a terrific dish, congratulations! Funny, but regardless of what I'm cooking, I never seem to have any butter left in the end, I wonder why that is? ;-)
 
dymnyno December 16, 2009
What a fabulous twist of originality on a classic. I am definitely trying this! CONGRATULATIONS!
 
Aliwaks December 16, 2009
I'm filing this away for the seder, its like tsimmes but better
 
BonEllen November 18, 2011
That is my plan too! Though, I might try to audition it at Thanksgiving this year.
 
MrsWheelbarrow December 16, 2009
Oh my gosh, how did I miss this recipe! I'm soo glad you're the wildcard winner this week. I cannot wait to make this.
 
Veronica December 16, 2009
Just had sliced winter squash with prunes at lunch--deelish, but I think this looks even better. Thanks!
 
WinnieAb December 16, 2009
YUM!