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{Note from Jessica: Today’s post is shared by my fellow health and wellness blogger, Carol Green, author of the Taste of Healing website. Carol is a nutritional therapy practitioner and helps to assist, empower, and motivate her clients. Her passion is in empowering others to embrace creating healing foods as an important part of a holistic lifestyle. Stop by her site, Taste of Healing, to get more info and tasty recipes.}
Gratin, the word for me conjures up memories of rustic comfort food, a ceramic casserole dish brought to the table family style with silky potatoes tucked under a canopy of crispy, golden goodness, oh my!
A look at the culinary origins of this dish reveals ‘gratin’ is a term used rather loosely to describe a technique originating in French cuisine in which a dish is topped with a browned crust, usually involving melted cheese, breadcrumbs, and butter.
The “Upper Crust”
The terminology is derived from the French words “gratter,” meaning to grate (cheese, breadcrumbs), and the term “le gratin” signifies the upper crust of Parisian society. How fitting a name for the upper crust of such a noble dish!
One of my most favorite renditions of this dish is my version of “pommes de terre gratinées” or potatoes with cheese, made with creamy white sweet potatoes, accompanied with braised leeks and complimented with aromatic licorice-y fennel.
In my family, when the gratin hits the table, everyone goes for that oh so yummy crunchy topping. My solution to add to the joy is to stack the potatoes upright in a zig-zag pattern, held up by the leeks and fennel between the slices. Slow baked, the result is creamy, melting soft sweet potato on the bottom and oodles of golden yumminess on top!
Sweet Potato, the Powerhouse Staple
A little less sweet and slightly starchier than their orange fleshed sisters, the white sweet potato is a good stand-in for the regular white potatoes and are wonderful baked or roasted.
A nutrition powerhouse brimming with vitamins A, potassium, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium to boot, sweet potatoes have rightfully so earned their spot as a staple on the healthy plate. So much so that consumption of sweet potatoes has swelled by a steady 6% per year since 2000!
You can read more of the different types of sweet potatoes and their uses here.
I do hope you try this wonderful dish, the perfect addition to your Easter table or any time of year.
Enjoy!
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Scalloped Sweet Potato Gratin with Braised Leeks & Fennel :: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free
Gratin conjures up memories of rustic comfort food, a ceramic casserole dish brought to the table family style with silky potatoes tucked under a canopy of crispy, golden goodness!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs white sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
- 1 cup fennel, ¼” slice
- 4 stalks leek, washed and diagonal sliced, 1”
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup raw cream
- ½ cup chicken broth (or make your own)
- 3 tablespoons butter or ghee
- ¾ cup grated semi-firm cheese such as Asiago, Gruyere or Swiss
- ¾ cup grated semi-soft cheese such as Mozzarella, Havarti or Fontina
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the leeks: Cut off the root end and slice ¾ “ diagonal slices, discarding the dark green part. Place the leeks in a deep dish of water and work all the dirt out, keeping the slices intact. Drain and set aside.
- Discard the green fibrous stalks and the hard inner core of the fennel, and slice into ¼ inch pieces.
- Peel the white sweet potatoes while periodically dipping in water to prevent oxidizing. Slice in ½ “ slices and hold in water.
- Preheat the oven to 400F and brush an 8 x 10” casserole or gratin dish with butter or ghee, set aside.
- Place a large saute pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of butter or ghee and add the fennel and leeks. Saute, careful not to burn, until the leeks have some color, 8 to 10 minutes, adding the garlic and seasonings halfway through.
- Deglaze with the broth, place a lid on the pan, turn the heat down low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Begin assembling the dish: stack the sweet potatoes standing up in a zig-zag pattern alternating the small and large pieces.
- Place pieces of leek and fennel between the slices, pushing them down to hold the slices up.
- Pour the raw cream over the potatoes and brush to make sure all parts received the cream.
- Cover with parchment paper, and then foil. Place the dish on a sheet pan in case of spillage, and place in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Take out of the oven, remove the foil, and sprinkle with the cheese.
- Return to the oven and bake uncovered until the potatoes are fork-tender and the cheese is golden and bubbly.
Notes
- When this dish comes out of the oven, it will look very watery. But, as it cools slightly and sets, the sweet potatoes should absorb the liquid again.
- Cooking times will vary depending on the starchiness of the potatoes, dish used, and oven.
- For my dish, I used a combination of Asiago, Harvarti, and Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 619Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 25gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 970mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 5gSugar: 13gProtein: 25g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered from Nutritionix and we often find their calculations to be slightly inaccurate based on the whole food ingredients we use on this site. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on many factors. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible, but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.