Nothing beats a good plate of mashed potatoes! Truth be told, growing up, it was probably my favorite dish at Thanksgiving. It might still be my favorite! But as I've gotten older, I've also developed a taste for a different kind of mashed potato: something more textured and flavorful.

This recipe is a riff on the classic dish of mashed potatoes, with some very tasty twists. Instead of white potatoes, it calls for sweet potatoes (or as some supermarkets are wont to label them, yams). Added to that are chipotle peppers for a kick of heat. Then it's just a matter of throwing in some salt and butter to smooth things out. Finished with a sprinkling of chives, the final dish hits all the right notes: sweet, salty, and spicy!

It's not as smooth as whipped potatoes. As the name suggests, it's smashed, so expect hearty chunks of potato in the assembled dish.

Chipotle-Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. 

Put the cubed potatoes into your steamer basked and place the steamer over a large pot of simmering water. 

Make sure the potatoes are no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of the basket, to make sure they don't become waterlogged. 

Allow to steam for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Add butter to potatoes and mash with potato masher. Or, as you can see below, a large wooden spoon will suffice. 

Add peppers, sauce, and salt and continue mashing to combine.

 Serve immediately, with a sprinkling of chives.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 whole canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can of peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt

YIELD: 4 Servings

NOTE: Most supermarkets label orange-fleshed sweet potatoes as yams. So buy those.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown's Good Eats.