Au gratins are typically starchy vegetable dishes napped with cream or milk and liberally topped with cheese. For instance, the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's recipe for Perfect Potato au Gratin uses 3 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of whole milk and 2 cups of cheddar cheese.
Granted, it serves 16, but still ... with a few substitutions you can wind up with a rich and delicious version that won't make you feel like you've overindulged.
This Parmesan Sage Crusted Sweet Potato Gratin combines slices of Yukon gold with sweet potatoes in a layered, breadcrumb-topped dish.
We skip the cream and opt for chicken broth and, instead of cheddar cheese, we went with parmesan, a cheese surprisingly high in calcium.
The recipe was tested with soft sweet potatoes (sometimes labeled yams), which have copper-colored skin and deep orange-colored flesh, and cook up soft and moist. This variety cooks more quickly than drier, firmer textured golden-skinned ones. If you use the firmer variety, you may need to slightly adjust the cooking time.
For a vegetarian dish, substitute vegetable broth or stock, but the finished dish may be a little darker in color.
Parmesan Sage Crusted Sweet Potato Gratin
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
6 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1 tablespoon melted butter
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is just crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, thyme, pepper and salt. Heat 2 to 3 minutes or until broth is steaming.
Arrange potato slices evenly in the prepared pie plate, overlapping slices. Pour the hot broth and onion mixture over the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together panko crumbs, parmesan, sage and butter. Uncover potatoes and sprinkle crumbs evenly over the top. Bake, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and potatoes are tender. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 160 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fat, 25 g carbohydrate, 8 mg cholesterol, 113 mg sodium and 3 g fiber.
Carbohydrate choices: 2.
Food on 12/07/2016