I posted this pork and sweet potato pie on my blog facebook page a while ago and after my cousin Jennifer recently comented she wanted the recipe, I figure I better get it out there!!! Thank you Jennifer for the nudge…♡
I often use ground turkey for burgers, meatloaf, sauces and casseroles. I buy meat from a favorite local business and tho I personally eat only poultry on occasion, my husband Bill and my mom, who lives next door and dines with us at dinnertime, enjoy pork and beef in their diets. So, occasionally I give them their fix of one or the other.
So, using ground pork and some creative experimentation I, a while ago, created this pork and sweet potato pie. I have to admit…it’s scrumptious.
I made it last night using ground turkey. It is equally scrumptious. And I have no problem enjoying a large helping!!! I make a large pie, so there are plenty of leftovers. It tastes even better the next day and warms easily, covered tightly with foil so as not to dry out, in a 325° oven. I take the foil off for the last few minutes of warming so the biscuit crust can crisp.
Here is my recipe.
For the potato portion of the filling, you will need…
3 medium potatoes peeled and diced into 1″ chunks
3 small or 1 large sweet potato peeled and diced into 1″ chunks
1 large vidalia onion or sweet onion peeled and diced
1/2 stick, (4 TB) butter
1 cup water
2 TB tomato paste
several grinds of salt and pepper
roughly a 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
A few dashes of ground cardamom and a dash of ground cloves (go easy on the cloves…you can always add more to taste but you just want the warm hint of it in the filling).
Place the butter, water and tomato paste into a 6 quart enameled Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add both sweet and regular diced potatoes and onion. Add salt, pepper, dried thyme, cardamom and cloves. Mix well with a wooden spoon, cover and let potato mixture simmer on medium/low heat for about 20 minutes. Uncover and stir well. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes or so or until potatoes are very tender and beginning to fall apart. Remove from the heat and let mixture cool, uncovered.
Once cool enough to handle, using a deep welled spoon or ladle, remove the potato mixture from the Dutch oven. Leave some of the liquid in the Dutch oven. Heat the liquid to just bubbling and add 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground pork or turkey. Give it a few grinds of salt and pepper and the same dashes of cardamom and cloves as you did with the potato mixture. Reduce heat if necessary and stir the ground meat until it is well and evenly cooked. Add 2 TB of flour and stir well. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of half and half or milk and stir well until the meat mixture is thickened.
Add the potato mixture to the ground meat in the Dutch oven and mix well. Let the mixture simmer ever so gently on the lowest heat. If you feel the mixture is too thick gradually add a bit of water until a nice gravy is achieved. You do not want the gravy too thin.
For the biscuit crust you will need…
2 cups all purpose flour
1 heaping TB bsking powder
A few grinds of pepper and salt
A dash of dried thyme
1 stick of cold butter diced into small chunks
1/4 cup of cold milk and roughly 1/4 cup of ice water more or less…
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the diced butter and mix until the butter has broken down into small bits. Gradually add the milk, then the ice water until a dough is formed and no dry ingredients are left in the bowl. The dough may be a bit sticky. This is fine.
Flour your rolling surface well and drop the dough onto it. With floured hands form a ball and using a dough scraper, slice the ball of dough in half.
Roll out half the dough to fill the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Once you have done that, carefully spoon the hot mixture from the dutch oven into the pie plate. Top with the cup of grated sharp cheddar. Roll out the remaining dough for the top of the pie, lay it evenly on top and crimp the edges tightly.
Pre heat your oven to 375 °
Place the pie in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the biscuit crust is a nice golden brown.
Once done, remove the pie from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving.
I have added fresh baby spinach ( when I have it) to this pie which gives it a bit more color and added nutrients. I may try adding tender baby peas sometime. But, as Bill says, “it’s a keeper just the way it is”. I hope you agree.
Pour yourself a glass of wine, add a green salad or fresh spring asparagus as I did last night…and enjoy.
Many Blessings…