Sweet Rose of Thanks

Flowers are symbolic, and roses are, probably, the most famous of all symbolic flowers. Red roses symbolize love, hope, and promise of new beginnings in most cultures.

This beautiful rose and a beautiful sentiment by Paolo Coelho is for all of you, Beautiful People, with all my love and best wishes for Thanksgiving! I also have a delicious sweet potato rose to grace your table with love and heartfelt promises.

I have been asked to post “something new to do with sweet potatoes.”  With all my love, I put together some sweet potatoes, a couple of carrots, a nice Red Delicious apple, and a handful of pecans. I put one potato and the pecans on the side, and I cooked the rest together. If you want to speed up the process, you can microwave them , but separately: potatoes, carrots, and an apple.  While all these filling ingredients are cooking, you can make the crust. You can get a ready-made, but I prefer my own. It’s very easy: just mix some flour (I like to use whole wheat for this) with salt and brown sugar, add Smart Balance or any other NOT butter of your choice, and a secret ingredient – rum. Pulse it in a food processor or blender and press into a pie form. Stick it into refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the pie.

Meanwhile, your veggies should be all cooked and soft, so you have to peel them and blend them really well in a food processor or blender together with seasoning.  I use cinnamon and allspice, with salt and pepper, of course, and another secret ingredient – sweet red wine. Hey, it’s a holiday!

You should blend it until you get a really smooth and creamy mass. At this point, you can adjust your seasoning to taste. On a whim, I also grated some ginger and yellow turmeric into it. It added that little extra zing! Meanwhile, take the remaining sweet potato and slice it paper thin.

Roast it in the oven for about 10 – 15 minutes on each side on a lightly misted baking sheet. These are your rose petals, so you want them soft, rather than crunchy.

While your soft and delicate rose petals are getting ready, you need to make the crunchy part – candied pecans. Melt equal amounts of Smart Balance, brown sugar, and agave, and toss your pecans, making sure they are well coated.

Now, as your rose petals are ready and cooling off, roast those pecans for just a few minutes, until browned and not sticky.

The time has come to assemble the pie. First comes the sweet potato filling. I sprinkle some paprika on top, just for color.

Then you stick your roasted sweet potato chips into the creamy filling, bending them a little. Start in the center and go around, forming a rose. Arrange candied pecans in a pleasing pattern. Put it back into the oven for the final few minutes of baking right before serving.  And there you have your Sweet Rose of Thanks!

As Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I am sure it will taste as sweet and look great on your holiday table.

This delightful combination of sweet and savory, creamy, chewy, and crunchy, will be a loving way to offer thanks for goodness and abundance of our common home – earth!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium size sweet potatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium size apple
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• Grated ginger and yellow turmeric to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 tablespoon sweet red wine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon  and 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup and 1 teaspoon Smart Balance
• 1/4 cup rum
• 1 teaspoon agave
• A sprinkle of paprika

PROCEDURE

• Peel apple and carrot. Cook or microwave together with 2 sweet potatoes.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Slice remaining sweet potato paper thin. Arrange on lightly misted with oil baking sheet, spray with oil. Roast for 10 – 15 minutes on each side until soft. Remove and let cool.
• Mix flour with salt and 1 tablespoon brown sugar, process with 1/2 cup Smart Balance and rum until thoroughly blended. Scrape sides occasionally. Remove, press into pie form, refrigerate.
• Place cooked sweet potatoes, carrot, and apple into food processor or blender. Add cinnamon, allspice, ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper. Add wine. Pulse until thoroughly blended and creamy. Scrape sides occasionally.
• Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt 1 teaspoon Smart Balance with 1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon agave, toss with pecans. Roast pecans for 5 – 7 minutes on lightly misted with oil baking sheet until browned and not sticky.
• To assemble the pie, fill crust with filling, spreading evenly. Sprinkle paprika. Form rose in the center by sticking roasted sweet potato slices, starting in the middle and going around. Arrange candied pecan halves around the rose. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve. Bake for 5 – 6 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!