Cumin Candied Yams

It wouldn’t be a holiday feast without a smorgasbord of side dishes to pair with your ham or turkey. One of the most underrated sides in our opinion is yams. It gets a bad rap as a marshmallow-covered sweet potato mash (or good if it’s your thing) — when there are so many different ways to cook them.

This holiday season, elevate your yams and #PickCider with these spiced candied yams made with maple syrup and our Pumpkin Spice cider, based on a recipe found in a cookbook by local restaurateur Tasty & Sons.

 
 

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

CUMIN CANDIED YAMS

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds, toasted (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin)

  • 6 small yams, tips trimmed as needed

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons high-quality maple syrup

  • 2 tablespoons Pumpkin Spice cider

  • 1 teaspoon of finishing salt (we highly recommend our friends Jacobsen Salt Co.’s pure flake sea salt.)


INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grind the toasted cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle if needed.

  2. Wash the yams and wrap them individually in aluminum foil while still slightly moist. Bake the yams for 30 minutes. Once tender, remove them from the oven and unwrap. Let them cool to room temperature on a wire rack, s[ace a few inches apart to cool faster and dry the skin.

  3. Using your palm, lightly smash the cooled yams down until they are flattened evenly to approx. 3/4 inch thick. Try to keep the skin of the yams as intact as possible, but there will be cracks. Season the yams evenly with salt and pepper.

  4. Mix Pumpkin Spice cider and maple syrup in a small bowl. Leave to the side.

  5. Melt the butter in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the yams in the pan. Push them around a bit and let them cook. After about 2 minutes, once they start showing color, flip them over carefully to keep them intact.

  6. Sprinkle each yam evenly with a generous 1/4 teaspoon of crushed cumin. Continue pushing the yams around the pan for about 30 seconds.

  7. Drain off any excess butter in the pan, return it to the burner, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Drizzle maple syrup and cider mixture evenly over the yams and cook the yams, lightly tossing them in the pan, for 1-2 minutes, or until the syrup begins to caramelize. The syrup will bubble like boiling water at first and then the bubbles will get larger and bubble for longer as it begins to caramelize. At this point, transfer the yams to plates, using a rubber spatula to scrape any pan syrup onto the yams. Season them evenly with finishing salt and serve.


For the complete #PickCider experience this holiday season, we recommend reading our Eight Holiday Recipes blog for more inspiration. Each cider-infused recipe was made and taste-tested by our team for you to enjoy. Cheers!

RecipePortland Cider