Sweet Potato, Ginger & Orange Gratin

Friday, June 23, 2017

Sweet Potato, Ginger & Orange Gratin

Indisputably some things in Life were created for each other’s benefits. The troika of ginger, orange and sweet potato is proof beyond doubt: the Divine Authority also cherishes winter comfort food.

This gratin is ideal for downright bleak winter nights when the company is intimate and the conversation sparkles whilst the cold wind nags at the corners and darkness maliciously waylays the roof ridges. This is when the humble sweet potato brings a surge of joy to the soul and bathes the heart in a glow of cordiality.

Interestingly, the gratin seems to work better when prepared on a scale meant for a convivial gathering of close friends or near family. Scaling it down to 4 or so portions seems to remove the enthusiasm it has for pleasing.

A mixture of the normal, ‘white’ sweet potato and the so called Cape, or yellow, sweet potato was used for this post. Both, as single ingredients, work equally well in this dish. The yellow variety has a distinctly different taste from the normal, white variety. It sweeter, nuttier and holds its texture better during the prolonged baking process. It definitely takes to cream with great gusto as well!

A word or two about the ingredients: make sure the sweet potatoes are firm and fresh. The small number of ingredients will cause any quality issues to amplify significantly into the final dish, only to distract and disappoint. Also, the calorie content of this dish is stellar, but please don’t skimp on the real butter and cream? Both are absolutely necessary for the searing sinfulness that is this gratin.

SWEET POTATO, GINGER & ORANGE GRATIN

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:	Preparation time:
10 – 12 Portions	± 150 minutes

Special Equipment:

A medium to large microplane grater.

A shallow, ± 2.5L enameled or cast iron baking dish.

Sweet Potato, Ginger Biscuits & Cinnamon

Ingredients:

Peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 4 – 5mm thick rounds	1.8Kg – 2.0Kg
Lemon juice	45ml
Fresh orange peel, finely grated	1 large orange
Brown sugar	60ml
Fresh cream	250ml

Full cream milk	400ml
Salt	10ml
Ground cinnamon	1.2ml
Freshly ground black pepper	1.2ml
Freshly ground nutmeg	0.5ml

Crushed ginger biscuits	400g
Butter, diced into 2cm x 2cm cubes	150g

Method:

1. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the sweet potato rounds as they are cut to prevent oxidation from turning it brown. Toss the bowl regularly to ensure all the freshly cut discs are covered with lemon juice. Any discoloured rounds will detract from the appearance of the final dish as the browning intensifies during the baking process.

2. Arrange the rounds of sweet potato at a vertical slant in cross wise rows over the length of the baking dish. Try to keep the general height of all the rows similar by varying the sizes of the rounds used. Keep the smallest rounds separate and use them afterwards (cut in half) to fill any openings between the sweet potato rounds.

Uncooked Sweet Potato, Ginger & Orange Gratin

3. Sprinkle the grated orange peel evenly over the filled baking dish. Use a spatula or round tip table knife to spread out any clumps of peel where necessary.

4. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the filled baking dish and pour the cream over the dish.

5. Mix the milk, salt, cinnamon, black pepper and nutmeg. Pour evenly over the filled dish. Be careful not the let the liquid level inside the dish rise higher than approximately three quarters the height of the wall of the baking dish. Too much liquid and it will boil over in the oven. This will be messy.

6. Cover the baking dish with foil and seal as tight as possible on the sides. Place the covered dish inside a baking tray to catch any boiled out liquid.

7. Bake 60 minutes at 150°C (300 deg. Fahrenheit) in a preheated convection oven or at 170°C (340 deg. Fahrenheit) in a normal, static oven.

8. Remove from the oven and uncover. Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for a further 30 minutes to reduce the liquid level inside the dish.

9. Remove the baking dish again and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Spread the ginger biscuit crumbs evenly over the entire surface of the filling. Stipple the crumb surface with the butter cubes. Return the dish to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

10. Remove the gratin from the oven and allow to cool somewhat for ±10 minutes before serving. Bask surreptitiously in the glow of adoration.

Sweet Potato, Ginger & Orange Gratin on Plate

Comments:

· Replace half of the fresh milk with tinned, evaporated milk to push the overall richness and creaminess up another notch. The evaporated milk brings a rich, almost caramellish element to the party without overpowering the original combinations.

· The orange and ginger play very well together in this dish and collectively they cry out for the company of pork. Any pork.