Premium Number One Beauregards are a popular variety of sweet potato grown in Vardaman, Mississippi. There are ninety sweet-potato farms within forty miles of this town, which even boasts a Sweet Potato Street running right into Main Street. With twenty thousand acres under cultivation, sweet potatoes have to be the state’s largest vegetable crop. Here a tart-sweet treatment and a dusting of crystalline flakes of salt elevate the down-home goodness of my favorite Beauregards.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

　　1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

　　3 tablespoons unsalted butter

　　2 teaspoons coarse flaky sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling

　　1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

　　6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into 8 wedges

　　

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400°F.

　　

Step 2

In a large saucepan set over high heat, heat the vinegar, sugar, butter, salt, red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons water to boiling. Remove the pan from the heat, add the potato wedges, and toss to coat with the mixture.

　　

Step 3

Spread the potato wedges evenly on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning the wedges occasionally, for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender and the glaze thickens. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the potatoes with additional salt, if desired. Let cool slightly before serving.

　　

Notes

Step 4

In 1987, Civil War buff and sweet-potato advocate Larry Rolston named this variety for Louisiana Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard. Rolston’s development of a high-yield and disease-resistant strain played a large role in revitalizing the sweet-potato industry.

　　

Step 5

After harvest, sweet potatoes are allotted a curing time to allow any nicks to heal before shipping to market. Starch is also then converted to sugar, improving the flavor. The curing time can be as short as ten days in warm temperatures or as long as three weeks if it is cool.

　　A Southerly Course