Meanwhile, make piecrust. Mix flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl, then add the chilled lard and work quickly with your fingers until lumps shrink to pea size. Add water and mix together. The dough will be crumbly, depending on the humidity, but pat it together to make a flattish disc. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and stick in the fridge to chill for half an hour.
Roll out dough on a floured flat surface (cutting board, marble slab or dishtowel-topped countertop). Lay out or press dough into a nine-inch pie plate, pinching up the sides so it can hold more filling.
When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, mash well with a potato masher or fork in a fresh medium bowl. Add filling ingredients and whisk well. Pour into piecrust and bake until firm, about 60 to 70 minutes.
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I’m a big fan of custard desserts in all their guises, from the crème brûlée with its crackly crust to the Spanish flan. I love the silky texture and the contrast of the slightly bitter sauce and the custard’s divine sweetness. Here is a recipe for a coconut version that I developed for a Vietnamese cooking class at Warren Cutlery in Rhinebeck.
Vietnamese Coconut Flan
Serves six.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, well-shaken before opening
1 cup whole milk
5 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons shredded coconut for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside a 1½-quart soufflé dish.
To form the caramel topping, heat a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar and stir occasionally. After a few minutes it will begin to get gooey and then form lumps. Watch carefully to keep from burning. Watch for the lumps to dissolve and the sugar to turn to brown syrup (this may take 10 to 15 minutes). Then add water carefully – it will sputter and bubble up – and stir rapidly until the sugar is liquid again, about two minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour into 1½-quart soufflé dish. Tilt to coat bottom and let cool.
In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, milk and remaining 1/3 cup sugar over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about ten minutes. Let cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, place eggs with vanilla and salt. Whisk well until thoroughly blended, add to coconut milk mixture and mix together well. Pour through a sieve into a bowl and then into caramel-coated soufflé dish. Place soufflé dish into a larger pan such as a roasting pan lined with a couple of layers of paper towels. Pour hot water into roasting pan to go about half way up outside of soufflé dish. Place on bottom rack in oven and cook until middle is set, about 1½ to 2 hours.
Remove from oven and let cool on counter in water bath. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Unmold by running butter knife around edge and placing dinner plate over top of dish. Invert and remove soufflé dish. Caramel coating will be runny. Sprinkle top with optional shredded coconut and serve.
Have a sweet holiday season!
Read more about local cuisine and learn about new restaurants on Ulster Publishing’s www.DineHudsonValley.com or www.HudsonValleyAlmanacWeekly.com.
