Leah Koenig is a writer and cookbook author whose work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Saveur, CHOW, Food Arts, Tablet, Gastronomica, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. Leah writes a monthly food column for The Forward and a bimonthly column for Saveur.com called “One Ingredient, Many Ways.” She is the former Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning blog, The Jew & The Carrot, and she is a frequent contributor to MyJewishLearning.com, where her recipes are very popular, and highly praised.

Her first cookbook, The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook: Daily Meals for the Contemporary Jewish Kitchen, was published by Rizzoli in 2011. The book was named one of the “Best Books of 2011″ by Library Journal and The Kitchn called it “a big, beautiful book that is also down-to-earth and completely accessible.”

For Passover, Leah brings us a sweet and hearty side dish that looks as good as it tastes–which is to say, gobsmackingly phenomenal.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Shallots

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 medium shallots (approximately 1/2 lb), thinly sliced
kosher salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter or pareve margarine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Boil sweet potatoes in a 4-quart sauce pan until tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain potatoes, then add them back to the pan and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium pan set over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until shallots soften and brown, about 10 minutes. Season with a little salt, remove from heat, and set aside.

Add approximately 1/3 of the cooked shallots to the potatoes along with butter and stock and mash until well combined.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve topped with remaining shallots.