Isn’t Starch Sweet?

Get a taste of the holiday season’s favorite side dish.

ALTHOUGH THE WORDS “yam” and “sweet potato” are used interchangeably, they’re actually only distantly related. A true yam is from the Dioscorea genus, which is commonly cultivated in West Africa and the Caribbean and rarely grown in the U.S., whereas sweet potatoes are from the Ipomoea batatas species, native to the tropical parts of the Americas.

Despite these differing backgrounds, both are root vegetables, cherished for their sweet, orange meat. (The meat can also be white, yellow and purple.)

A holiday meal is not complete without a dish that honors these tubers, rich in dietary fiber, and vitamins A, C and B6. Whether you give thanks over a plate of candied yams, dig into a sweet potato pie, or bake it and top it with butter and brown sugar, yams (or sweet potatoes!) are something to be celebrated.

Recipe Candied Yams

8 large yams, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup dark brown sugar 2 oranges, zested and juiced 2 tbsp. ginger, minced

1/2 tsp. five-spice powder 4 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces salt and black pepper

In a large bowl, mix yams, sugar, orange juice and zest, ginger, five-spice powder and butter. Place in oven (preheated to 325 degrees) and bake for 1.5 hours or until potatoes are soft.

—Courtesy Chef Ming Tsai, Emmy Award-winning host from Food Network’s “East Meets West”

LOS ANGELES

CRAFT

Joining locations in New York, Atlanta and Dallas, this 300-seat eatery has become an outpost for lunching Hollywood talent agents. The brainchild of Chef Tom Colicchio (of Bravo network’s “Top Chef” fame), Craft is embracing yams this season, offering the likes of seared bay scallops with yam purée and pomegranate; yams and black truffle gratin; and chestnut farrotto with pickled yam.

310-279-4180 | www.craftrestaurant.com

LA JOLLA

THE SHORES RESTAURANT

While Nov. 22 is a day to give thanks, it’s also a time to eat—and The Shores Restaurant at the La Jolla Shores Hotel (20 minutes from the San Diego airport) can provide the goods. This year’s Thanksgiving buffet includes a delectable side dish of plantation praline yams.

866-644-2630 | www.theshoresrestaurant.com

NEW YORK

TOMOE SUSHI

This West Village sushi mecca is always packed—and for good reason. The menu, which is filled with the freshest of fresh seafood, incorporates the Japanese mountain yam, typically eaten raw and grated. Try the negitoroyamakake (fatty tuna and scallion on ground Japanese yam) or the mentai-yamaimo roll (spicy cod fish roe and Japanese yam).

212-777-9346

PHOTO: JIM SCHERER/GETTY IMAGES