Sweet potato gratin

"Italian Sweet Potato Gratin"
From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health by the Moosewood Collective
Yield: 6-8 servings
25 minutes to prepare, about 1 hour to bake

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 cups of peeled, very thinly sliced sweet potatoes
• 4 cups very thinly sliced onions
• 3 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
• 1.5 cups grated mozzarella
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Oil a 9x13" baking pan.
2. Make the flavored oil: In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, oregano, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Assemble the gratin:
   1. Evenly spread 1 cup of the potatoes in the pan (they won't cover the bottom completely).
   2. Spread 1 cup of the onions over the potatoes.
   3. Drizzle with about 1/4 of the oil mixture.
   4. Top with a generous 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce.
   5. Sprinkle with about 1/3 cup of the mozzarella.
   6. Sprinkle with about 2 tbsp of bread crumbs.
   7. Repeat this layering 3 more times, using up any extra tomato sauce or mozzarella in the top layer.
   8. Finish by sprinkling the Parmesan on top.
4. Cover and bake about 45 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Uncover and continue baking until the gratin is bubbling and lightly browned, about 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

This is really delicious, also really rich. I hear it's also good without the cheese but have never tried it that way. Preparing this with a mandolin is very quick, but without it is kind of a chore to slice all those potatoes and onions. Usually we use about a pound of each to get 4 cups sliced. Sara 00:38, 5 November 2012 (UTC)