Sweet Potato Gratin

SWEET POTATO GRATIN WITH Cheese

prep time: 30 minutes

cook time: 50 minutes

total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups double cream
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/8-inch thick (easiest to do in food processor)
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1tsp dried thyme
salt
ground black pepper
grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In a small pot bring cream and garlic just to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside. Butter a shallow casserole dish or gratin dish of similar size and set aside. Stir the cooling cream occasionally to help prevent skin from forming.

2. Build the Gratin: In the buttered casserole dish, spread one quarter of the sliced sweet potatoes out in a single, overlapping layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt, pepper, and thyme and then some grated cheese. Using another quarter of the sliced sweet potatoes, build a new overlapping layer. Again sprinkle with the seasonings and shredded cheese. Using half of the remaining sliced sweet potatoes, make another layer and sprinkle the last third of the seasonings and more cheese. Use the last of the sweet potatoes to make one final layer on top. Stir the garlic cream mixture then pour it evenly over the top of the gratin, being sure to cover the top layer of sweet potatoes. Shake the dish gently to distribute the cream. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

4. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, move the gratin to the top 1/3 of the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. You may also place it under the broiler for a few minutes if you wish the top to be a deeper brown (but watch it closely!). Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes (or not!) before slicing.

*Note: Make Ahead! You can slice your potatoes and completely submerge them in ice cold water, cover and refrigerate up to a couple of days. Then drain, pat dry and assemble the dish

We first ate this in a local restaurant. quite rich and very moreish