This Sweet Potato Bacon Gratin is amazingly delicate, utterly comfort, and sinfully delicious meal which is perfect for some nasty winter days and nights.
Hello, my friends! I hope this week has been treating you well so far. How about the weather? I swear, I was going to post something more appropriate for January (Read: healthy and not so fattening). But then some ugly weather started (The beautiful combination of the rain, snow, and wind). This kind of weather wasn’t appropriate for a salad, I believe. So, even though I didn’t want to do this initially, I didn’t have a choice but share this Sweet Potato Bacon Gratin.
Trust me, it’s so earthy and hearty, that it will definitely beat any imperfect weather. I mean, a salad won’t be able to do this, right?
Aren’t you angry with me for posting some of the really outrageous food such as baked gnocchi and another naan pizza in January?
Sweet Potato Bacon Gratin
The thing is that all these recent recipes were developed in November and December. I just didn’t have a chance to post them because of the Christmas season. Indeed, we’re eating relatively simple and healthy meals now, most often soup. However, there are pretty many unpublished recipes, and I regret to inform you that I will be posting most of them. If you’d like to know what to expect during the next couple of weeks, here we go:
- Pasta
- Baked pasta
- Another twist on my cheese savory cookies/biscuits
- Another twist on naan pizza
- Baked stuffed pasta (Possibly I discard this one as I am not fully satisfied with the pics)
- Twist on tiramisu (Possibly I discard this one as I haven’t checked the pictures)
- Fabulously delicious carrot cookies (Will likely discard this one as I cannot find the recipe/proportions I used)
As you see, there’s no room to relax. But at least, you’re prepared now. Besides, there are no cakes in this list, so hopefully, you can forgive me for this savory decadent deliciousness.
While waiting for other recipes from the above list, let’s make this Sweet Potato Bacon Gratin. It’s savory, herbaceous, rich, and loaded with all the delicious things. I mean, sweet potatoes, bacon, cream cheese, cheddar, thyme, smoked paprika…can you say NO to this?
Notes
havocinthekitchen.com
Ingredients
- 3 medium or 2 large (about 2 pounds) sweet potatoes, peeled and evenly sliced
- 4-6 bacon strips, sliced
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups milk (1-2%)
- 1 cup cream cheese, plain or with garlic/herbs
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- few fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp herbs de provence
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2/3 cup grated smoked cheddar
- 1 tbsp butter, divided for greasing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees C (360 degrees F). Grease the skillet or iron cast with the 1/2 tbsp butter.
- Place the bacon into a pan and cook about 3 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- In a meanwhile, grease medium saucepan with the remaining butter. Add the milk and cream cheese and place over low medium heat, stirring often, for a few minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Stir in the thyme, sage, herbs de provence, smoked paprika, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook a little longer to thicken. Stir in the bacon.
- Spread a few spoons of the sauce on the bottom of a pan/skillet
- Arrange a half of potatoes as demonstrated in the picture. Drizzle with some of the sauce. Finish with the potatoes. Evenly pour the cream sauce over the potatoes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes start to soften (check with a wooden stick). If the top is getting brown too fast, cover with foil.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with the cheddar and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the desired softness. Grill a minute if desired.
- Remove from the oven and let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving,
- Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
Comfort food at its max! Love!
Cheese, bacon and sweet potatoes! What’s not to love! It looks so heavenly and yummy for these cold winter days!
You are right about this gratin being perfect for nasty winter days and nights Ben! Yum! Although I suspect that when you refer to “nasty winter days and nights” your winter is a lot worse than ours. I’m eating soup and more soup at the moment and lots of oven baked healthy things but I’d love to see your “Twist on tiramisu” recipe Ben, I feel we need something indulgent and to have a break in the middle of all the healthy recipes! Thank you!
Indeed, the winter days have been pretty decent in January. I’ll consider your request on the Tiramisu twist, Neil :)
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Creamy Chicken Porcini Pasta
Don’t tell me you might not post your tiramisu recipe. I LOVE tiramisu (are you surprised?). I personally could eat salad just about any day, but when the weather is particularly ugly I need comfort food; you’re right when you say salad just won’t cut it sometimes. So I don’t blame you for posting this in January at all! It looks delicious!
Yes, I surprised – I thought you like cheesecakes, Kelsie! :) Thank you!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Creamy Chicken Porcini Pasta
Oh, I totally agree with you about this weather and the need for delicious comfort food! I always crave soup and healthy food coming out of the holidays…but about a week in, and all I want is delicious comfort food filled with cheese. And bacon. Speaking of cheese and bacon, I think you’ve got it covered in this amazing gratin. I want to sit down with that entire skillet in my lap for dinner tonight! Well done, Ben!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Parmesan Garlic Monkey Bread
Yes, I got it covered. I think I could have named this recipe Sweet Potato Bacon Gratin for David :)
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Creamy Chicken Porcini Pasta
Perfect for nasty weather!! Sweet potatoes are one of the only vegetables my kids really like, and combined with cheese, this is sure to be a dinner win!!
PS – you have to find your recipe for those carrot cake cookies. They sound delicious!!
It looks I need volunteers to organize search for that recipe :)