Sweet (potato) dreams

It takes autumn with Thanksgiving on the horizon to make us think about certain foods. Pumpkin pie is one a delicious dessert that seems to tempt us only on the fourth Thursday in November. Ditto cranberry sauce a sparkling condiment that we COULD enjoy year round, if we thought about it. And then there's the sweet potato. If you encounter these gems only once a year perhaps smothered with a layer of melted marshmallows it's time to take a second look.

Sweet potatoes are one of those unabashedly good-for-you foods. The Center for Science in the Public Interest calls the sweet potato a “nutritional all-star” and “one of the best vegetables you can eat.”

There are many really easy ways to prepare sweet potatoes that enhance their healthful properties and avoid the marshmallows.

• Bake in oven or microwave and serve slightly sweetened (drizzle of maple syrup, cinnamon and/or ginger), or savory (salt, pepper, cayenne or hot sauce).

• Slice into wedges, toss with canola oil (2 teaspoons per potato), sprinkle with salt and cayenne (if desired) and bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning once.

• Cover three sweet potatoes and a chunk of fresh, peeled ginger with water and cook until tender (40 minutes). Drain, saving the cooking liquid. Puree potatoes and ginger in food processor and add 1½ cups warm skim, soy or almond milk. Add cooking liquid to make soupy. Stir in ¼ teaspoon allspice, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and salt to taste. Heat through.

Sweet potatoes are the kind of food that a magazine like EatingWell can work magic with. And it has, in a stunning new book called “The Simple Art of Eating Well” by Jessie Price (Countryman Press). The sweet potato tart here would serve as an appetizer for a “company” meal or a main course for a vegetarian one. It's something you may find yourself making all year long.

• Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (2005 Perigee). More at marialisacalta.com.