Recipe Modification-Sweet Potatoes with Grapefruit

I'll never claim to be a professional anything and even more so when it comes to cooking. I never have the right ingredients and I'm always in a hurry so I think that high heat is the only heat and let's not mention the "fish spread" incident, (you really don't want to know.) So when I accidentally make something and it turns out to be edible and tastes good too, it's worth sharing.

This happy accident happened when I was making Southern Style Shepherd's Pie form Rachel Ray's Just In Time Cookbook...

(photo from Amazon.com)
If you don't know what shepherd's pie is, traditionally, it's sort of like a casserole covered in mashed potato, but Rachael Ray's is covered in sweet potatoes, which I suppose is the "southern" twist. And trust me, it's yummy!

But as I mentioned, I never have the right ingredients. The recipe calls for an orange and what I thought was an orange sitting on my counter actually was a home grown grapefruit, (smallest grapefruit I'd ever seen,) and the orange zest then had to be the grapefruit zest. Oh, and forget about the nutmeg, it became cinnamon. After the dinner had been eaten, it was decided that the pie was good but the sweet potatoes alone were great! Since then, I've modified it a little further, making ever so slightly healthier than the original recipe, (I don't really know how to calculate those things.)

Here's what I ended up with...

Ingredients:
(Milk not pictured...be sure to read the ingredients!)
3lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 TBS olive oil*
Zest and juice of one grapefruit
1/2 cup lowfat milk*
1 Banana
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

* The above is the "slightly" healthier version. For a creamier version, substitute 4 TBS (1/2 stick) butter instead of the olive oil and 1/2 cup heavy cream instead of lowfat milk.

How to:

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the sweet potatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes, until fork soft. Drain and set aside.

2) Return the pot to the stove over medium heat. Heat the olive oil and slice the banana into the pot. Cook for 5 minutes.

3) Add the zest and juice of one grapefruit.

5) Return the potatoes to the pot. Add the milk, cinnamon and mash. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.


Enjoy!
J.

PS- Note how I have a potato masher and a microplane (grater) but nothing as simple as an orange...