Nourish: What's for dinner? How about a skillet pie with sweet potatoes?
It takes advantage of sweet potatoes' inherent moist creaminess, so minimal butter is used in mashing them. And along with the bottom layer being lean poultry, it also has a bonus of meaty mushrooms in the mix. With a layer of savory, seasoned chopped meat tucked beneath a creamy blanket, my healthful dish this week is like a shepherd's pie — but one with the distinctive taste and look of autumn.
That fall-harvest vibe hits you as soon as you see the orange mashed sweet potatoes that crown this pie. And it is pushed further in that direction once you dig in and taste the thyme-flecked ground turkey beneath it.
Besides its distinctive flavor profile, this recipe has a lot to offer healthwise. It takes advantage of sweet potatoes' inherent moist creaminess, so minimal butter is used in mashing them. And along with the bottom layer being lean poultry, it also has a bonus of meaty mushrooms in the mix. To minimize the dishes that need washing at the end — and add to the dish's homey, rustic vibe — the layers are baked in the same skillet used to cook the turkey mixture.
I like to wrap a towel around the handle and set the skillet on a pad in the center of the table so everyone can help themselves.
• Ellie Krieger is a registered dietitian, nutritionist and author who hosts public television's “Ellie's Real Good Food.”