Wasabi Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I love sweet potatoes pretty much any way you can prepare them-fries (see here, here, and especially here), roasted, in hash and soup, stir-fried, candied, mashed (see here, here, and here). In the past the additions to my mashed sweet potatoes have always been sweet, but this time I tried the contrasting flavor of horseradish with these wasabi mashed sweet potatoes. I'm a big fan of wasabi, and horseradish in general, but even I was a little wary of trying out this unconventional pair. The pungency of wasabi varies greatly from brand to brand, but I found that in my wasabi mashed sweet potatoes, the sharp wasabi blended nicely into the background, contrasting, but not overwhelming the sweet potatoes. If I go the horseradish route again with sweet potatoes, I'll try prepared horseradish or wasabi paste as the wasabi powders with artificial colorings or preservatives often have a bit of an off taste. Although it certainly won't replace my favorite additions of butter and maple syrup, this recipe was a nice change of pace and a great side for an ahi tuna steak with wasabi mayo, well-worth filing away in my recipe box.

Wasabi Mashed Sweet Potatoes
from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
serves 4 to 6

6 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes
water to cover
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1/4 cup butter
salt to taste
pure maple syrup or brown sugar to taste

1. In a covered pot, bring the sweet potatoes, water, and salt to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

2. Mix the wasabi powder with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the potato cooking water to make a paste. Combine the drain sweet potatoes, wasabi paste, and butter and mash well. Add a little more of the cooking water, if needed. Add salt and maple syrup or brown sugar to taste.