Sweet Potato & Gouda Gratin

This recipe (from Sunset magazine, October 2016) was a good excuses to use the slicing and shredding attachments to my KitchenAid mixer – they’ve been packed away in storage since shortly after I got them about 2 years ago! I love thyme. Still, it was relatively strong to my taste in this recipe. I might reduce it whenever I make this again. Also, even after sitting more than 10 minutes, the cheesey sauce was still a little thin. I increased the flour in the ingredients list below…hopefully that’ll make it creamier.

Ingredients

3 - 4 medium-large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and thinly sliced

1 large shallot, thinly sliced, rings separated

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus thyme sprig for garnish

1 tsp coarse salt

½ tsp coarse pepper

1 T flour

6.5 oz gouda cheese, shredded

¼ C flour

1 C heavy cream

¾ C chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss together shredded gouda and 1 T flour in another bowl.

Lightly coat a 3 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange half of sweet potatoes and half shallot onto bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half the thyme, salt and pepper. Layer half the gouda-flour mixture onto seasoned sweet potatoes. Arrange remaining sweet potatoes and shallots in a second layer.

Whisk ¼ C flour with half cream until smooth. Whisk in remaining cream and broth. Pour over sweet potatoes; top with remaining gouda.

Bake 45-55 minutes, increasing temperature to 400°F for the last 5 minutes or so, until gratin is bubbling and golden brown on top. Let sit 10 minutes before serving (sauce will thicken). Set a thyme sprig on top to garnish. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.