"For this dish, I cook the sweet potatoes in a microwave oven while I heat up the broiler. Then I halve the potatoes, rub them with butter, top with maple syrup, and finish them under the broiler."
Heat the broiler. While it is heating, microwave the potatoes for 8 minutes. They should be cooked through. Split the potatoes lengthwise in half and score the flesh of each half with a knife, cutting a crisscross pattern about 1/2-inch deep. Brush the cut sides with half the butter and top with the maple syrup, salt and pepper.
Arrange the potato halves cut-side up on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and broil about 7 inches from the heat source for 4 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and broil for another 3-4 minutes.
Adapted from "Heart & Soul in the Kitchen" by Jacques Pepin. Copyright © 2015 by Jacques Pepin. Used with permission by Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.