Thanksgiving Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

Name

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Ingredients: - 3 large sweet potatoes - 4 cloves garlic - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Salt and pepper to taste - 1/4 cup milk or cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Scrub the sweet potatoes well and pierce them several times with a fork. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup. Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour, or until they are tender when poked with a fork.
3. While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the roasted garlic. Peel away any loose outer layers of skin from the garlic bulb but don't separate the cloves. Cut off about 1/4 inch from the top of the bulb so that each exposed clove has its own bit of surface area. Place the bulb on a small square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap up the garlic tightly in the foil to create a sealed packet.
4. After the sweet potatoes have been in the oven for 30 minutes, add the wrapped garlic packet to the same rack as the sweet potatoes. Continue cooking both items for the remaining 30 minutes.
5. When everything is done cooking, remove the sweet potatoes and garlic from the oven and let them cool slightly.
6. Scoop out the flesh from the sweet potatoes into a large bowl; discard the skins. Press the softened garlic cloves through a fine mesh strainer or use a fork to mash them into a paste. Add this garlic paste to the sweet potato flesh along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.
7. If you want your mashed sweet potatoes extra creamy, stir in milk or cream at this point. Mash everything together using a potato masher or electric mixer until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve hot.