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7. Remove from the oven, let stand 5 minutes, then serve as an accompaniment to roast pork, turkey, or chicken. Good, too, with baked ham.

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SWEET POTATOES

The New World potatoes Columbus introduced to Spain around 1500 were sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) and by the middle of the sixteenth century, species of various hue were being grown there: red, purple, and white.

Food historians believe that the Spaniards also carried sweet potatoes to the East Indies and Philippines and that the Portuguese ferried them from there to China, India, and Malaya. The Belgians, we’re told, were attempting to grow sweet potatoes by the end of the sixteenth century; so, too, herbalist John Gerard of London. Neither had much luck.

According to Albert F. Hill, for years a professor of economic botany at Harvard, “The sweet potato requires a sandy soil and a warm, moist climate.” Which explains why it grows so well in the South. And why Southerners are so partial to it. For years they’ve been stirring sweet potatoes into everything from soups to salads to breads to pies.

As the nation’s number-one producer of sweet potatoes, North Carolina stages a “Yam Festival” every October in the little town of Tabor City with parades, cook-offs, contests, and coronations. “Yam” is of course a misnomer, for true yams (genus Dioscorea) are wholly unrelated to the sweet potato and in fact are not very sweet.

Louisiana, another top producer of sweet potatoes, is best known for the sweet-as-candy, vermillion-fleshed Beauregard, which was developed there in 1987 and quickly became the trendy chef’s darling. It still is.

In Colonial times, doctors prescribed sweet potatoes to children, believing that they could prevent measles, mumps, whooping cough, and other childhood diseases. Perhaps they were onto something. We now know that sweet potatoes are an exceptional source of beta carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, and that they also contain impressive amounts of vitamin C plus a respectable dose of vitamin E. Moreover, they are fiber-rich but fat-and cholesterol-free.

Small wonder they’ve been called “nature’s health food.”

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SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

I particularly like this sweet potato casserole because it isn’t candy-sweet—no marshmallows, no canned crushed pineapple, no honey, and not very much sugar. I don’t boil the sweet potatoes before I mash them; I bake them so they’re less watery and have better flavor. Here’s how: Pierce each sweet potato with a sharp-pronged kitchen fork, set on a baking sheet, then bake on the middle oven shelf for about 1 hour at 400° F. or until you can pierce a potato easily with a fork. Cool the potatoes to room temperature, peel, then mash until light and fluffy.

3 cups firmly packed unseasoned mashed sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds) (see headnote)

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cup fresh orange juice

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 2-quart casserole and set aside.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, beating until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed

3. Scoop into the casserole, spreading to the edge and roughing the surface. Bake uncovered on the middle oven shelf for about 45 minutes or until tipped with brown.

4. Serve hot as an accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken, or pork. Good, too, with pork chops.

SCALLOPED ORANGE AND WHITE POTATOES

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Southerners dote upon scalloped vegetables—scalloped oyster plant (salsify), scalloped tomatoes, and of course everyone’s favorite, scalloped potatoes. I’ve added my own twist here: a mix of sweet and Irish potatoes (bakers or russets) heightened with garlic, fresh bay leaves, and lemon thyme. This is a great make-ahead,