Perfect Pair: Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

Tuesdays is all about pairing food and drinks with the help of our experts.  This week, wine expert, Neal Wavra, the sommelier of the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia, helped us select the perfect pairings. 


You can’t help but pile on spoonful after spoonful of this delicious Sweet Potato Casserole.  It is almost a dessert.  The secret ingredient is the bananas.  They add some natural sweetness.  You can find this recipe and more in the Capital Cooking Cookbook.

I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend.

The Dish:  Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole

The Pairings:

Chester Gap, “Boisseau Vineyard”, Viognier, Warren County, VA, 2009

Bernd Jung works with Richard Boisseau to source richer viognier from the vineyard set on the land of Richard’s old family home in Front Royal.  This wine offers a honeyed and sweet spice profile to complement the flavors found in the casserole.  The wine has a balanced acidity necessary to refresh between bites of these rich dishes.  

North Gate, Viognier, Loudoun County, VA, 2010

A newer winery to the state, Mark & Vicki Fedor, the husband and wife wine makers, are not new to winemaking however.  They made wine for Corcoran previously.  This viognier from the 2010 vintage fashioned at their LEED certified winery in Loudoun County, offers some tropical fruit, honeysuckle, and sweet holiday spices with a vibrant acidity.

Mom's Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

4-5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 bananas

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Toss the bananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven but don't turn the oven off. Scoop out potatoes and peel bananas and add them to mixing bowl with other ingredients and blend with electric mixer. Pour into 13x9 buttered casserole dish.

Topping:

1 Cup flour

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup pecans

1 stick of butter, softened

Mix the topping together and sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

* You could add cinnamon to the mixture too for added flavor.