Published November 1, 1998.
For a great side dish that doesn’t taste like a dessert, parboil the potatoes before baking, cut down on the butter, and sweeten with a combination of molasses and honey.
Too often, this casserole tastes more like dessert than a side dish.
We wanted a recipe that was sweet without being cloying, rich enough without gratuitous fat, and didn't require the better part of the holiday weekend to prepare.
We first found we needed to precook the potatoes; when we made a casserole with raw potatoes the sugar did not develop. Parboiling exposed them to hot water for a long enough time to bring them to the point of releasing their sugars, but not allowing them to overcook. Next we wanted less of a more interesting sweetener to complement the potatoes—a combination of dark molasses and honey was a perfect combination. Fresh ginger proved to be a natural seasoning and only six tablespoons of butter added sufficient flavor.
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