Sweet Potato Purée with Comice Pear

Essentially this is a smooth potato purée combining both sweet potatoes and russets, spiked with chunks of ripe Comice pear.

Recipe Ingredients:

4 to 5 medium sweet potatoes
1 Yellow Finn or russet potato
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk or half milk and half cream
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 firm, ripe Comice pear
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Directions:

1. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Bring them to a rolling boil in salted water and cook until tender. Peel and dice the potato and cook separately in boiling salted water. (Both the sweet potatoes and the other potatoes must be fully cooked, or the purée will not be smooth.)
2. While they are cooking, melt the butter in the milk (or milk and cream), add the thyme and bay leaf and steep for about 15 minutes so the milk will be flavored by the herbs. Peel and core the pear and cut into small dice. Pass the potatoes and sweet potatoes through a food mill.
3. Strain out the herbs and add enough of the flavored milk to the purée to achieve the consistency you want. Gently fold in the diced pear and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 8 servings.