POTATO & KUMARA GRATIN

'gratin'. What I particularly love about this type of cooking is that you can place virtually any vegetables, breadcrumbs, herbs and some form of cheese together and the dish always turns out delicious.  I swear that the gratin recipe below becomes tastier everytime I cook it.  Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I slightly change the ingredients everytime. If you are looking for a hearty and cheap vegetarian dinner, I strongly recommend that you continue reading. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 700g kumara (sweet potato), peeled & thinly sliced into round slices
• 900g potato, preferably with a waxy skin, peeled & thinly sliced into round slices 
• 200g cream fraiche  (reduced-fat if able to find)
• 300g vegetable stock 
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme 
• 1 teaspoon ground sage plus extra to serve 
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese 
• cooking spray 
• 50-75g breadcrumbs
• sea salt & freshly ground pepper 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 teaspoon garlic flakes 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius fan- force. 

2. Grease a square or rectangular roasting tin/dish with cooking spray. Combine the potato & kumara slices in a bowl and layer in the dish, sprinkling salt, pepper and garlic between each layer. 

3. Heat the creme fraiche with the vegetable stock in a saucepan until well combined. Pour this over the vegetables. 

4. Stir the parmesan, 1 teaspoon sage, thyme, breadcrumbs, sea salt & pepper together and dust over the vegetables evenly. Place the dish in the oven for around 35-40 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and vegetables are tender. Serve with a pinch or two of extra ground sage if desired. 

Note- cookbooks will often tell you to eat/serve gratin immediately. I respectively disagree with this as I find this dish and similar others that I have made even more delicious the next day, warmed up or served cold. 

Serves 4 as a main meal or 8 as a side dish 

Preparation time : 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 40 minutes 

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