Sweet Potato Gratin

Sweet Potato Gratin

An idea has been bouncing around in my head for a few weeks and finally I've got it out and prepared. The idea originated with the sweet potato.  I like sweet potatoes and I was giving some thought to something new for the coming Thanksgiving holiday.  I am not a big fan of the yam and even less of a fan of the yam turned candy with marshmallows.  

I wanted something that would be a little more savory but still accent the sweetness of the sweet potato.  I also liked the idea of something I could prep ahead.  Did you know that sweet potatoes and yams are not even remotely related to each other and neither of them is related to the potato. Sweet potatoes are from the same family as morning glories. I like that.

Here's a little sweet potato gratin that I cooked up.  Gratin is just a fancy word for a dish that has a browned crust on top. You can switch the sweet potatoes for yams if that is your preference, but do me a favor try it with sweet potatoes first.

Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Gratin
Ingredients:
3-5 medium sweet potatoes (2-3 lbs)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cups chopped onions
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
pinch to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup butter

Peel and thinly slice the sweet potatoes

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

2 cups of half and half, light cream, or whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter or spray an oblong baking dish, 9x13 or similar.

Peel and slice the sweet potatoes very thinly and set aside.  1/8th inch thick is a good thickness. 

Caramelize the onions and add the brown sugar and cayenne

Chop the onion and add them to a skillet with the olive oil.  Begin to sweat the onions slowly.  Once they have lost most of their water, they will begin to caramelize into a nice golden color.  After the onions have caramelized to a light brown, add the dark brown sugar and the cayenne pepper.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Create the sauce

 
In another skillet, create a roux with the 1/4 cup butter and the flour.  Add the 2 cups of cream/milk all at once stirring until it is smooth and bubbly.  Turn off the heat and stir in the salt, mustard, paprika, nutmeg, and a few grinds of black pepper.

In your buttered dish, layer half of the sliced potatoes, half the sauce, 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan and half the onions with their sweet sauce.  Create a second layer with the remaining ingredients, ending with the onions once again.

Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.  You can refrigerate it at this point until the next day or until you are ready to bake it.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, covered with the foil for 45 minutes.  At 45 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes until it is browned and bubbly.



This little dish pairs nicely with turkey, but also with a pork roast or chicken. 

Enjoy!
 

Cabbage Noodle Casserole

Every once in a while, we need to be inventive.  I had some freshly made pesto in my food processor, a cabbage and some sweet onions from the garden on the counter, and the need to make a dish to take to a friend.

That's how this all started and here is what I did.  I invented a Cabbage Noodle Casserole.  This dish makes a great vegetarian main dish or a nice side dish.



CABBAGE NOODLE CASSEROLE
(makes 1 large 8 serving or two 4 serving casseroles)

1  head of green cabbage, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons olive oil

In a large skillet, add these first three ingredients and begin to caramelize the onions and cabbage.

As the cabbage and onions turn a nice caramel color, turn off the heat.

In a separate pan, cook just until aldente 4 cups of wide noodles.
Drain the noodles and toss the noodles and cabbage mixtures together.

Add to the mixture 1/2 cup of pesto and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Toss this all together to mix and place in one large or two smaller casserole dishes.

Top with a hand full of Parmesan cheese and place under the broiler to brown the top.  Instead of the cheese on top, some nice Italian bread crumbs or croutons would work as well.

This is totally cooked and ready to eat as soon as the cheese is melted and the top is browned.

 

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Slow Cooker Roast

Italian Pot Roast - Ready to cook!

I was planning something completely different for this post when a friend emailed and said, “We’ve used all the steaks and ground from our side of beef and now I’m left trying to figure out a good way to use up the roasts. I know you must have a tasty recipe or two.”

Well, yes I do.  Initially I thought I’d tuck the idea away for a while because I had already been working in a different direction.  But then ... oh what the heck, here it is.  Like I’ve said before, I’m not a recipe cook and so I never have anything written down.  That means I have to make it myself and try to figure out measurements, proportions, and times before I can give someone my recipe for anything.

Roasting is a slower cooking method for cuts of meat that are less tender.  The slower, longer cooking allows time for the connective tissue to break down and naturally tenderize the meat.

I was having company last Sunday and so I thought it was a great opportunity to document this recipe.  So I could enjoy my company and not be greasing up the kitchen while they were here, I decided - Let’s to a roast in the crock pot!  I did all the prep Saturday night and it took me about 45 minutes before I put it in the frig waiting for the next morning when I put the crock in the pot and cooked it for about 5 hours.

The minute my company walked in the door, the lid of the crock pot was being lifted with comments like "that smells delicious" and "what are you cooking".  The roast was ready in 5 hours with the first 3+ on high and then I turned it down to low.

Now, to make a long story short... I've had this post on my desk for over a week pondering how to explain the fact that this roast disappeared so fast that I had no time to photograph the final product or a plated version. This has bothered me, but short of remaking it just for the shoot, you'll have to take my word for how delicious it was and how quickly it disappeared.

You can change the flavor (country) based on the herbs and spices and a couple of ingredients.  I'm giving  you an Italian and a French version to choose from.  I made the Italian version, but the French version is equally as easy with a completely different taste.  It's all in the herbs!

Slow Cooker - Pot Roast

2-4 pound organic or natural beef roast - chuck, rump, shoulder
1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper OR a savory dry rub

ITALIAN                                                                     FRENCH
4 Tablespoons organic olive oil                                 4 -6 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped carrot                                               2 cups chopped carrot
2 cups chopped onion                                               2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves of minced garlic                                           4 cloves of minced garlic

1 teaspoon sugar                                                      1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon dried parsley                                       1 Tablespoon herbes de Provence

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning                                     OR  1/2 tsp fennel seed (optional)
1 28 ounce or 2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes   1 tsp each thyme, marjoram, basil 
1 cup of good red wine                                              1 bay leaf

                                                                                   1 cup of good red wine 

                                                                                   2 cups beef stock

I like to use a savory rub on my meat.  It’s my own combination of herbs, spices, and salt.  If you don’t have a dry rub, you can just use salt and pepper.  Rinse the meat and pat it dry.  Rub the meat with the salt and pepper or rub, wrap it up, and put it back into the refrigerator for an hour or so while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  I do not incorporate a lot of salt up front, but suggest that you taste the final product and add salt to taste before serving.  This is a better overall way to reduce salt and let the flavor of the different herbs shine through.

Veggies and herbs

Put the chopped carrot, onion, garlic, and seasonings in the bottom of the crock pot.  If you want to, you can saute these in a little olive oil before putting them in the crock pot, but it is not necessary.  I don't saute for the Italian version, but the caramelizing would be a good support for the French version.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and brown the meat thoroughly on both sides.  Put the roast on top of the vegetables.

Browning the meat adds flavor

Add the tomatoes and top it off with 1 cup of red wine.  In the French version, since you don't have the juice from the tomatoes, add 2 cups of beef stock or water.

That’s it!  If you want to cook it tomorrow, refrigerate the covered crock until you are ready to start it.  Set the temperature at high and let it cook for about 3 hours and then lower the temperature to low and continue to cook another hour or 2 until the roast is fork tender.

If the sauce is too thin, you can put it into a pan on the stove top and bring it to a fast boil to reduce it to a thicker consistency.

You can also cook this in a roaster in the oven - I would have the oven at about 300 degrees and cook it for at least 3 hours or until fork tender, covered tightly.

I served mine over fluffy jasmine rice with a side of green beans, but serve it over your favorite rice - potatoes - polenta and with your favorite salad or veggie.  Enjoy!

Plain Old Onion Soup

I’ve been making my own version of onion soup for years.  I became curious as to why it was called “French” onion soup and not just plain old onion soup.    
I actually didn’t find a satisfying answer, but wikipedia says, “Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as Roman times. They were, throughout history, seen as food for poor people, as onions were plentiful and easy to grow. The modern version of this soup originates in France in the 18th century, made from beef broth, and caramelized onions. It is often finished by being placed under a grill in a ramekin traditionally with croutons and gruyère melted on top.”  

I suppose gruyère is French and thus makes it French Onion Soup.  If you use Swiss cheese instead, it could be called Swiss Onion Soup, or if you’re lucky enough to have local cheese...  I digress.

Superstar onions - 2011 harvest

Last fall, I harvested these beautiful Superstar onions from my garden.  Superstar is a day neutral onion that apparently does well here in the mountains above Missoula.  This box was full and so I’ve used a huge amount of them.  There are still plenty left and I need to do something with them soon before they begin to get the hint of spring and start sprouting.  So, it’s onion soup! 

 

Here’s my recipe.  You can make it from any country or cheese you desire.  Use up those stored onions now before they start sprouting.  If you’re out, look for some organic locally grown onions.

4-6 medium onions - sliced or chopped and drained
2-3 garlic cloves - minced
6 Tablespoons  unsalted butter
4 Tablespoons flour
1-2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts hearty beef stock or 6 Tablespoons of low sodium Better than Bouillon - beef or veggie  in 2 quarts of warm water
1 cup of good red wine (Cabernet, Merlot, Zinfandel - optional but essential in my mind)
2 cups large cubed baguette or hearty toasted bread
1 cup shredded gruyère, Swiss, or cheese of your choice

Raw onions ready to saute'

 Onions have a lot of water in them and they will not begin to caramelize until the water evaporates and so I like to chop my onions rather than slice them.  (I don’t like long stringy onions when I try to take a spoon of soup.) I then lay them out on a paper towel and lightly sprinkle them with salt to help pull some of the water out.  I leave them to drain 20 or so minutes  and then I blot them with another paper towel before I begin.

While the onions are draining, I get the rest of the ingredients ready.  I’ve tried all kinds of ways for preparing the beef stock, from making my own, to buying prepared stock, to my absolute favorite way, organic - low sodium - Better than Bouillon - beef.  You can also substitute the beef with the vegetable variety for a vegetarian version with no loss of flavor.  I do NOT follow the 1 tsp to 8 ounces of water on the label.  I find that this is not rich enough for my taste - thus the 6 Tablespoons in 64 ounces of water.  Put the broth, the bay leaves and the thyme in the soup pot.

Caramelize the onions in the 6 Tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium to medium-high heat. All stoves are different and so I judge the temperature this way; if after 8-10 minutes you are not seeing any color around the edges of the pan, kick up the heat a little.  Keep a close eye on them.  They start out white.  As the water evaporates they become translucent, and then begin to caramelize. You want them to turn golden, not burnt or get crispy.  This can take about 20-30 minutes of your attention.  The pan will begin to pick up the browning as well. This is all good!

Onions translucent and caramelizing

Once the onions are caramelized, add the fresh minced garlic and the flour to the onions and continue to cook for another minute or two to lightly brown the flour.  Transfer the onions to the soup pot and de-glaze the skillet with the wine. If you prefer not to use the wine, you can use 2-3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in a cup of water to do the same.  Scrape all of the little brown bits from the sides and bottom and then dump this into the soup.

De-glazing the pan with red wine

Bring the soup to a simmer for about 30 minutes.  Taste for salt and pepper and season to taste.  Now it’s serving time....

For some reason, I object to being given a delicious bowl of soup that is difficult to eat, so my version began with the chopped onions rather than the sliced ones, I also chop my bread into large cubes that can be balanced on a spoon.  I prefer this over the huge slice that you have to try to cut into bite sized pieces in a steaming hot bowl of soup. And, I put the cheese in the bowl instead of dripping down the sides of the bowl. After all the work is done, is it too much to ask to have it move comfortably from the bowl to your mouth, without the extra effort?

I don’t always broil, but if you want that “look”, make sure your bowls can handle the heat of the broiler before you put them full of soup and goodness under the broiler.  Broil on Med or High for 5 minutes or until the desired color is obtained and serve.

This recipe will make 4-6 generous bowls of soup.  If you have only 1-2 for dinner, refrigerate the rest and enjoy another meal later in the week.  I frequently eat it without the garnishment of the bread and cheese.  It is that delicious all by itself.  Enjoy!