Sweet Potato Pave and Butternut Squash Puree with Pan-Seared Steak
Chef de Cuisine Jasmine Watson, Audette, NewportThese two dishes pair beautifully together with seared steak and make for a comforting wintertime menu. My favorite cut is rib eye, which I gravitate towards, especially when entertaining guests at home. The pavé (French for cobblestone) is best if made the day before serving.Serves 6
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Pavé:
- 1 quart (4 cups) heavy cream (Wright’s Dairy is my go-to)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme stems removed
- 5 large sweet potatoes (we love Wishing Stone Farm)
- 6 large Yukon Gold potatoes
- Kosher salt such as Diamond Crystal
Butternut Squash Purée:
- 1 large butternut squash
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Leftover cream from pavé
- 1½ cups “no salt” or low-sodium chicken or veggie stock heated
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2½–3 pounds steak pan-seared to your liking
Notes
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium saucepot, lightly heat cream, garlic and thyme leaves. Do not boil; just gently bring it up to a simmer then shut the heat off. While cream steeps, grease and then line an 8½-by 4¼-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Square off and peel potatoes. With a mandoline or sharp knife, carefully slice potatoes a little thicker than paper thin. Place potatoes in the cream, gently move around to coat the slices. Build your pavé starting with Yukon Golds on the bottom: lay horizontally, not overlapping, making cuts to the potatoes to fit the pan (potatoes aren’t perfect!). Lightly salt this layer. Do the same with the sweet potatoes, lightly salting each layer. Save the leftover cream for the squash purée when done.
Cover the loaf pan tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes. Potatoes should be tender all the way through (test by inserting a small sharp knife). Bake longer if needed, checking every 5 minutes.
When potatoes are tender, remove from oven and let cool 25 minutes, remove foil and place a piece of parchment on top. Set 2 heavy cans tomatoes (or the like) on top to press pavé overnight in the fridge.
Next, rub whole butternut squash lightly with olive oil and salt. Roast at 350°F on a lined sheet pan until soft, approximately 1 hour. When just cool enough to handle, scrape squash from the skin, discarding skin and seeds. Gently reheat the reserved cream. Add cream and squash to a blender to purée, adding heated stock just as needed, then add butter. Season with salt and pepper. (Can also be made in advance and reheated.)
The night of your dinner, remove pavé from the fridge and flip the loaf pan upside down onto a cutting board. (The cream will have solidified; if needed, slightly warm the bottom by placing pan in warm water.) Once released, square off the edges and cut into 1-inch-thick rectangles. Heat a little oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sear both sides, place on a lined sheet pan and place in the oven at 350°F until slices are hot in the center. Serve pavé, plated, with butternut squash purée and slices of steak. Enjoy!
