One of the things I was most excited about when we found out we were moving to Okinawa was the purple sweet potatoes, or beni imo. Then, mainly because I am foolish and was only shopping at the commissary and the local grocery store closest to our house, instead of going to farmer’s markets, I didn’t see any purple sweet potatoes for the entire first year we lived here. Luckily, I found some a few months ago and have now been on a mission to find and cook as many of them as possible. Which leads me to this Okinawan sweet potato pie.

I wanted to make a pie with the purple sweet potatoes, but I also wanted to change things up a little bit, to make the entire pie more Okinawan. So I used Okinawan brown sugar (which is less sweet/less processed and tastes a bit like coconut sugar), added some freshly grated ginger, and used coconut milk and coconut oil instead of evaporated milk and butter. The results were delicious, though the pie was not as purple as I would have liked, because of the brown sugar.

I think this pie would be a great addition to the Thanksgiving dessert table, and it would work with orange sweet potatoes, too. You could also use evaporated milk instead of coconut milk! Please lease let me know in the comments if you would be interested in some kind of Okinawan food giveaway. It’s illegal to take the actual purple sweet potatoes off the island, but the beni imo powder is very shippable! And there are some other things that I could include as well.

Okinawan Sweet Potato Pie

(Makes one pie, adapted from Patti LaBelle’s sweet potato pie recipe)
One pie crust (frozen works, too!)
2 1/2 pounds purple sweet potatoes (you want about 2 cups mashed)*
1/2 cup coconut oil (or unsalted butter)
1 cup plus 1.5 tablespoons Okinawan brown sugar (or 1 cup white sugar)
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (shake the can before opening!)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream and beni imo powder, for serving

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into roughly equal chunks, and place them in a large pot of boiling water. Cook until you can easily stick a fork into the center of each piece (time will vary based on the size you cut them into, but I usually cut them into 2- or 3-inch pieces and check after 10 minutes).

Drain the potatoes, saving about a half cup of the cooking water (which will be dark purple). Allow to cool slightly, then put the purple water and cooked potatoes into a blender or food processor and pulse until the mixture is very smooth (you may have to add a little more water).

Preheat the oven to 375. If using a frozen pie crust, set it out to thaw while you’re making the filling.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sweet potato mash with the coconut oil, then add the sugar, coconut milk, eggs, salt, and spices. Blend just until everything is combined.

Place the pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any drips), and pour the filling into the crust. Use a spatula or spoon to smooth the top of the filling, then put the baking sheet and pie into the oven.

After 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and set the timer for 25 minutes. Check the pie by gently shaking the baking sheet. If the center is jiggly, keep baking it for another 5-10 minutes.

Once the center is firm, take the pie out of the oven and allow to cool, then store in the fridge. Serve with whipped cream and garnish with beni imo powder.

*If using orange sweet potatoes, you may not need to use any water at all to blend/mash them after they’re cooked. White and purple sweet potatoes are drier than orange.