Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
My love for all things “sweet potato” keeps growing.
Once something we only ate with brown sugar and butter, full of syrupy sweetness, I now love to eat them in the savory way. Something has developed in my post-40’s tastebuds that loves the blend of sweet and savory and sweet potatoes are one of my favorite ways to play with this combination.
This Easter (or anytime) side-dish will be wonderful alongside of a glazed ham or pork loin this year. It is a welcome change from traditional scalloped regular potatoes and I look for it to become a family favorite.
You make these very similarily to how you make regular scalloped potatoes. Technically these should probably be called “Sweet Potato Gratin Dauphinois” but that would just scare people away from having a try at making a truly simple and wonderful dish.
You need to start out by slicing up about one and one-half pounds of sweet potatoes. For me, that equaled about 6 medium-sized sweet potoatoes. We’re going to fill up a 9 x 13 pan with lots of thin slices of these orange beauties. Technically, the orange sweet potato variety I believe may be yams, but the bag I buy at my grocer labels them as sweet potatoes so who knows really?
Peel them up nicely.
Slice them as thin as you can (no thicker than 1/8 inch) with a mandoline, your food processor fitted with the slicing blade, or a good sharp knife.
Once you get them sliced…
Put them all into a large bowl as you’ll need to prep a few other ingredients.
Shred up 1 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese.
Chop up one medium onion very finely.
Chop up 2 teaspoons each of rosemary, chives and thyme.
Toss them into a bowl together and mix them up well with your fingers.
Take your grated Gruyere and mix in 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan as well in a separate bowl.
Now, butter or spray a 9 x 13 inch pan. Start by layering your sweet potato slices.
Use one-half of the sliced sweet potatoes in your bowl. They don’t have to be perfect but try to get them reasonably even in the bottom half of your pan.
Sprinkle one-half of the onions over top of them evenly.
Then sprinkle them well with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle roughly one-half of your cheese mixture over top.
Sprinkle your herbs over top of the cheese.
Oh shoot! I almost forgot the garlic! Chop up or press 2 cloves of garlic. Sprinkle some over top of the mixture. You actually might want to do this after the onion.
Then repeat the entire process again to create a second layer – Potatoes, onion, salt and pepper, garlic, cheese and herbs.
Then drizzle one and one-half cups of heavy cream or half and half over top of the whole pan. You could use fat free half and half if you are watching your figure even!
Cover the whole thing with foil.
And pop it into a 400º oven for one hour and fifteen minutes.
Take it out..
Check it with a fork. You want the top to be nicely browned and almost crisping. And the potatoes themselves underneath should be soft and creamy.
Yummmmm.
You could make this ahead of time or even freeze it and reheat it on Easter Day.
Happy Easter everyone! I hope you spend a meal with your family celebrating the arisen Jesus on this day with those that you love!
- 1½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, chopped finely
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 t. fresh rosemary
- 2 t. fresh sage
- 2 t. fresh thyme
- 1½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- ½ c. Parmesan cheese
- 1½ c. heavy cream
- ½ to ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Preheat oven to 350°.Slice sweet potatoes thinly with mandoline or knife (about ⅛ inch) and add to large bowl. Chop and mix herbs together in 2nd bowl well. Mix cheeses together in another bowl. Layer half of sweet potatoes in a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with half of chopped onion and garlic and half the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle with one-half of the cheese and ½ of the herbs. Top with remaining sweet potatoes, onions and garlic, salt and pepper, cheese and herbs. Evenly drizzle cream over all.Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes. Top should be browning and potatoes very tender. If not, return to oven for an additional 15 minutes.
Other great recipes from food bloggers featuring things from their pantry:
Feed Me Phoebe: Tropical Trail Mix With Ginger and Coconut
The Cultural Dish: Green Bean Salad
Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Easy Roasted Tomatoes and Spring Asparagus
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Pizza With Kale-Walnut Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pickled Garlic
Red or Green?: Spring Greens With Homemade Vinaigrette
The Sensitive Epicure: Pasta alla Ghetto Fabuloso (Gluten-Free and Milk-Free)
Dishin & Dishes: Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Haute Apple Pie: Broccoli Cheesy Rice
Made By Michelle: Broccoli Quiche With Homemade Bisquick
FN Dish: Pantry-Friendly, Budget-Friendly Side Dish Recipes
