The Roots of Root Pie

In the beginning, American colonists made pumpkin and squash pies because they didn’t have any fruit trees, but they ended up developing a taste for them. You wouldn’t know it from today’s English cookbooks, but England too had a taste for vegetable pies in the 17th century.

John Evelyn (1620-1706), one of the founders of the Royal Society, was a scientific-minded cook who collected recipes throughout his life. In his collection (edited by Christopher Driver as “John Evelyn, Cook”; Prospect Books, 1997), he doesn’t actually give a sweet potato pie recipe, but he does remark that it was like artichoke pie. This recipe is adapted from his artichoke pie.

Made with four kinds of dried fruit and the dark-orange sweet potatoes we call yams in this country, it’s a luscious and exotic dish. Evelyn’s technique of baking a pie with a dry filling and moistening it afterward is sometimes used by professional bakers to give a moist but not mushy filling.

JOHN EVELYN’S YAM PIE

CRUST

6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) butter

2 cups flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

FILLING

1 1/2 pounds cooked yams, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices

1/8 teaspoon mace

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Salt

1 tablespoon diced green citron

1/2 tablespoon candied orange peel

6 dried apricots, chopped

4-5 large dates, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

CAUDLE

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 egg yolks

CRUST

Rub butter into flour. Break egg into flour and add cream. Handle just enough to form dough into ball. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

FILLING

Divide dough in 2 halves and roll out. Line 9-inch pie pan with 1/2 dough and arrange yam slices on it. Sprinkle mace, cinnamon, dash salt, citron, orange peel, apricots, dates and sugar over yams. Dot with butter and cover with top crust. Cut 4 vents in top crust. Bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes, then at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

CAUDLE

To make Caudle, boil wine until reduced by about 1/3. Reduce heat to low and stir in sugar and butter. Beat yolks in bowl and add 5 to 6 tablespoons hot wine, stirring after each addition, then stir egg into wine.

To serve pie, remove sizable piece from center of pie crust and pour in Caudle, lifting yam slices with spoon to ensure that Caudle permeates whole pie.

6 to 8 servings. Each of 6 servings:

673 calories; 241 mg sodium; 202 mg cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 87 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 1.55 grams fiber.

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Cook’s Tip

*If you can’t find candied orange peel, remove the zest (orange layer of the peel) from an orange using a zester or sharp knife (in the latter case, slice the zest into thin strips). Boil it with 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar until transparent.

*Candied citron peel is available at supermarkets, particularly around the holiday season. Because it’s a naturally dull neutral color, it’s usually dyed either red or green.