We’ve been told repeatedly by people on the internet, in the last decade, about how sweet potatoes are infinitely better than regular potatoes. While that may not entirely be true (because who doesn’t love a French fry), there are a few recipes that tend to taste better, when made with sweet potatoes. Of course, for weight-watchers, the fibre density of these potatoes work to their advantage but when you perceive it from the point of view of making a calorie-dense, rich and decadent gratin, the idea behind sweet potatoes being ‘health food’, starts to shift slowly.
The key to making a superlative tasting au gratin, is to use the best quality of ingredients available to you, at your disposal. Not that there’s anything wrong with cheese you can buy off of a supermarket shelf, but purchasing good quality cheddar or gruyere makes the flavours come together in a way where you’ve probably never experienced before. Making a gratin requires time and patience, which makes it perfect to put together for a lazy Sunday lunch or dinner. Rest assured, this creamy, cheesy, garlicky gratin is one you’re going to keep getting repeated requests to rustle up!
Recipe:
Ingredients
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- 500 grams sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- ½ cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup cream
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Butter for greasing
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and grease a medium-sized baking dish with butter on all sides.
- Slice the sweet potatoes into ½-inch thick discs and start to layer the baking tray with the roundels. Meanwhile, warm up the cream and add the sprigs of thyme to infuse the cream with flavour.
- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and take off the heat. Add the minced garlic to the cream and set aside for a few minutes.
- Layer the cheese between the layers of sweet potato roundels and pour the warm cream over in a way that the sweet potatoes are submerged for the most part.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of grated cheese on top and add a few more thyme leaves on top before baking in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Once you see the top bubbling, remove from the oven and rest on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving warm.
Note: You could substitute the sweet potatoes for regular ones, butternut squash or pumpkin using the same recipe. Add slices of bacon or ham for an extra meaty flavour and an element of protein.
