Sweet potato pudding is a recipe that belongs to my family’s repertoire and to the cucina povera of Bologna and Romagna, an area where potatoes are a traditional product and were historically part of the food diet of the poor people.
I can still hear my maternal grandmother’s voice as she laces up her apron, remembering when she had only potatoes and imagination. One of the most memorable repertoires of potato recipes was born from that inexhaustible reservoir of inventiveness and recipes exchanged between her and friends or acquaintances. I have never counted them, but there are about a hundred. And since I am a potato eater, I should write them down correctly and do something with them; who knows, the coming year will inspire me!
As a child, I ate many dishes that contained potatoes or had the tuber as the main ingredient. Cooking potatoes often was a habit developed in my grandmother’s younger years, when World War II reduced many Italians to hunger. For those who lived in the countryside, it was easier to find something to eat, yet even there was little; men at war did not cultivate the fields. Not to mention that the Germans, at one point, retreating, began to requisition every kind of food.
Another thing I remember accurately is that as the years went by, Grandma stopped cooking many recipes from the old repertoire, above all from cucina povera, to accommodate new flavors and perhaps forget certain bitter memories.
Potato pudding
This recipe has disappeared from my family table since the late 1970s when grandma started using more decadent ingredients to make puddings and, to keep us children happy, the bags of ready-made mixes we used to eat at our friends’ houses.
Grandma used to cook this pudding for the family, and sometimes at Sunday lunch for an unexpected guest since its preparation is simple and quick. It was not a dessert for important occasions.
Yet, when something went wrong this year in preparing one of the desserts for Christmas lunch, the reminiscence of the potato pudding saved the situation.
It was the evening of Christmas Eve. I had filed the 24th meal with satisfaction, and everything seemed under control. Then, there was a sudden movement and disaster. The cake did not fall, but it was no longer presentable. I cut it into pieces and stored it in the freezer. Then I opened the refrigerator, thinking, What do I do now?
I saw the boiled potatoes, I always have some in the refrigerator, and smiled at Grandma Sara.
I went by eye and memory; fortunately, neither betrayed me.
Grandma left no written recipe from her repertoire dedicated to potatoes. Over the years, my mom and I have redone and fine-tuned some dishes to ensure we don’t forget them, as well as a list by title of many others. However, in talking with my mom as well, I think I introduced three changes to the original recipe: unsweetened liquid cream instead of milk, powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, and raisins softened in cognac (which weren’t there but for me fit works well).
Cocoa potato pudding is flourless, perfect for those looking for gluten-free recipes.
This humble dessert has brightened up the most beautiful table. That of Christmas, to me. Furthermore, it has sparked lively discussions about forgotten recipes from the cucina povera, which, to me, increasingly seems like the cuisine of the future.
Buona cucina, Monica
Other recipes from cucina povera of Emilia-Romagna
- Pumpkin cappellacci pasta
- Chickpea polenta and baby octopus stew
- Ricotta and herbs balls
- Pinza, the typical ciambella of Bologna
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Potato pudding
Equipment
- 1 dome mold, 1/2 liter capacity
Ingredients
- 500 g of yellow or white potatoes, boiled with the skin
- 30 g of raisins
- hot water and cognac or rum to taste
- 1 regular egg
- 125 g of powdered sugar
- 50 g of bitter cocoa
- 80 g of melted butter
- 30 g of of chocolate drops
- 150 g of heavy cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C (356F) degrees.
- Peel the potatoes and mash them with a potato masher; set aside.
- Put the raisins in a bowl with some hot water and one or two tablespoons of Cognac (or rum). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, shell and pour in the egg.
- Add the powdered sugar and, using electric whips, mix the mixture for two minutes.
- Add the bitter cocoa and the mashed potatoes, melted butter, and liquid cream (at the beginning 100 g, another 50 if you feel the pudding is a bit thick). Using whips, stir the mixture until well blended.
- Add the raisins drained from water and Cognac, and chocolate drops, and mix with a metal spoon to incorporate them.
- Line the mold with moistened and squeezed baking paper, pour in the mixture, cover with aluminum foil, and place the mold in an oven dish with water (so that the dome of the mold is submerged in the water).
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Open the oven door, not completely, and let cool.
- Turn the mold upside down on a serving plate, remove the mold and baking paper, and serve the pudding with whipped cream or ice cream on the side.
Tips
- Make the pudding the day before, if possible.
- Store in the refrigerator.
- Store leftover in the fridge for a couple of days.
