Sweet Potato Shepard’s Pie Recipe | Solluna by Kimberly Snyder (2024)

FAQs

How old is sweet potato pie? ›

Sweet potato pie applies European pie making customs to the preparation of sweet potatoes. Recipes for sweet potato pie first appeared in printed cookbooks in the 18th century, where it was included with savory vegetable dishes. By the 19th century, sweet potato pie was more commonly classified as a dessert.

African Americans contributed to the narrative because the sweet potato was preferable to their palates. By 1881, a Black woman named Abby Fisher published a cookbook with a recipe for sweet potato pie, possibly the first recipe of its kind.

If it is made with mutton or lamb it is usually called "shepherd's pie" (because a shepherd looks after sheep) and has a topping of mashed potato, patterned to represent sheep's fleece.

Particularly beloved in Black and Southern households, this traditional delicacy has a rich history that travels from the forests of Peru to kitchens of the antebellum era. This dish is so rife with nostalgia that the popularity of sweet potato pie rivals even that of its autumnal rival, pumpkin pie!

What is the favorite pie of Black people? African-Americans today have continued the tradition of sweet potato pie with holiday dinners. So yes, sweet potato pie is a Black thing – easy enough for anyone to make, and everyone to love!

After emancipation, when African American cooks gained more access to their own equipment and refined ingredients, they continued the tradition of baking with yams and sweet potatoes — especially the pie. These deep roots became the foundation of a strong tradition in African American food culture.

This dessert at Mama Dip's is handmade with mashed sweet potatoes, and fits into a family tradition carried on by Spring Council. Mama Dip's has been a Chapel Hill fixture for more than 40 years — and everyone has their favorite dishes.

North Carolina: Sweet potato pie

Though sweet potatoes are beloved all over the South, this orange tuber is especially bountiful in North Carolina.

It's called cottage pie in the U.K. because they use beef and in Ireland since the shepherds tend sheep, it's shepherd's pie. No doubt, the English put out an excellent cottage pie, but in Ireland it used to be a delicacy since the Irish couldn't afford beef they repurposed any unused veggies and meat.

Classic shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies like peas, corn, celery, and carrots. Why is my shepherd's pie soggy? Avoid a soggy pie by simmering the meat mixture for at least 8 minutes. Be sure to cook down the mixture to remove excess moisture.

How do you keep shepherd's pie from falling apart? ›

How do you keep shepherds pie from falling apart? The eggs in the mashed potatoes help keep the pie together. You should also make sure to spread the potatoes and press down a bit.

Perhaps most visible in African American homes, sweet potatoes are often transformed into sweet potato casserole, candied yams—which are even more deeply sweetened sweet potatoes— and of course, sweet potato pie, which are all holiday staples.

"It's the same with things like fried chicken, barbecue and all these other things that were not necessarily part of the West African food heritage." Since then, sweet potato pie has become a hallmark of Black cuisine and common on dinner tables across the South. For Miller, sweet potato pie means family and culture.

Did you know: Sweet Potato Pie was a favourite of Henry VIII of England, believing it was an aphrodisiac[1]. The sweet potato neither a potato nor a yam. It is commonly thought to be a type of potato but belongs to the morning glory family, not the nightshade family.

The Ancient Egyptians were the first to invent a dish close to what we know as a pie today. They had a honey filling covered in a crusty cake made from oats, wheat, rye or barley. A recipe for chicken pie was also discovered on a tablet carved prior to 2000 BC.

Pie pastry is believed to have originated in Ancient Greece. In the plays of Aristophanes (5th century BC), there are mentions of sweetmeats including small pastries filled with fruit.