Spicy stars
Do you ever wonder why we name certain food items that have nothing to do with their physical composition or appearance? Take, for instance a hot dog. There is of course no actual dog meat inside and the product does not necessarily have to be eaten hot. What about French fries or French toast or Rocky Mountain oysters? There is nothing “French” about the either the potatoes or the bread, and Rocky Mountain oysters are, well, let’s just say they’re neither from the Rocky Mountains nor related to oysters in any way. Why do food descriptions have to be so inconspicuous? Lucky for us, there are some foods that don’t conceal their identity with their name.
Star anise is one of these few foods that is ever so kindly self-descriptive. It is essentially a star-shaped spice that tastes of sweet licorice. How much more expressive can you get with two words? The spice is a beautiful rendition of nature, each point in the star-shaped pod filled with an aromatic seed, sweet and pine-like, but balanced by pungent accents of licorice. Spicy warmth at its finest.
Star anise is a common ingredient used in Eastern Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian cuisines and is a major flavor component in Chinese five spice, a spice blend of star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and cloves. It can also be found in various blends of Chai tea. When baking, the spice is best used when combined with other warm spices, like cloves, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and mace, especially when baking. Because star anise is extremely potent, only a scant amount is needed to enhance a dish, and pairs well with naturally sweet foods, like sweet potatoes and butternut squash.
On Thanksgiving two years ago, I decided to deviate from our standard sweet potato casserole recipe and prepare the Bourbon sweet potato and apple casserole with a pecan crust that I saw in the November 2010 issue of my Fine Cooking magazine. The cream is steeped with whole star anise pods before being blended with the sweet potatoes and takes the casserole to a whole other dimension. You might just want to try making it for this year’s turkey feast.
Bourbon Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole with a Pecan Crust
by Susie Middleton
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter; more for the pan
4 oz. toasted and very finely chopped pecans (1 cup)
1-1/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream
Eight 1/4-inch-thick slices fresh ginger, unpeeled and crushed
2 whole star anise
One 2- to 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. bourbon
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1-3/4 lb. Granny Smith apples (about 3 large), peeled, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
Discard the skins and put the flesh in a medium mixing bowl. With a potato masher, work the sweet potatoes until they’re well mashed (they don’t have to be perfectly smooth).
Turn off the heat, carefully add the remaining 2 tsp. bourbon and stir until it evaporates, a few seconds. Pour in 1/3 cup of the infused cream and stir until the apples have absorbed most of it, a few more seconds. Set the pan aside and let the apples cool for about 15 minutes, turning them occasionally to release steam.
Bake the casserole at 375°F until the crumb topping is dark brown (it will be browner around the edges) and the casserole is heated through, about 25 minutes.
make ahead tips
You can bake and mash the sweet potatoes and make the crumb topping a day ahead (cover both and refrigerate). Bring the potatoes and crumb topping to room temperature before assembling the dish. You can also assemble and refrigerate for up to 8 hours before baking. Return to room temperature before baking.