Sweet Potato and Apple Gratin

I am going to make this for our family's farm-to-table Thanksgiving: Sweet Potato and Apple Gratin. It's a recipe I got from Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, which is well known for its restaurant, Blue Hill. The recipe is a favorite of co-owner Dan Barber.

Sweet Potato and Apple Gratin
Servings: 8

Ingredients

7 tablespoons butter, divided

1.5 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced 1⁄4-inch thick

1⁄2 cup heavy cream

1⁄2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

Big pinch ground nutmeg

2.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds

1 clove garlic, crushed

1⁄2 cup panko or fresh bread crumbs

Cooking Instructions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 12-inch nonstick pan, lightly brown 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the apples, and sauté in batches until just colored, making sure they stay firm. Set the apples aside on a plate. In a large bowl, stir the cream, milk, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg until the salt has dissolved. Toss the potatoes in the cream mixture to coat.

Generously butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch ovenproof dish, and rub with the crushed garlic. Line the bottom of the dish with a layer of overlapping potatoes, followed by overlapping apples. Repeat, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Pour in remaining cream mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for about 90 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Heat the broiler. Sprinkle panko over the gratin, dot with 1⁄2-inch cubes of the remaining butter, and broil until the bread crumbs are golden brown.

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Dorian Winslow is the president of Womanswork, and is passionate about making the best products on the market for women who garden and work outdoors.

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