1 kg Sweet potatoes
2 tb Sunflower oil; plus a little
-more for greasing
1 Red chilli; seeds removed,
-finely chopped -OR-
1 ts Dried chilli flakes
3 cl Garlic; finely chopped
250 ml Double cream
Sea salt and freshly ground
-black pepper
150 g Crunchy; no-sugar-added
-peanut butter
1 Lime; zest of, finely
-grated, plus:
2 ts Lime juice
Although they're not much grown in the UK, I do enjoy a sweet potato
every now and then. Spiked with a little chilli and garlic to cut
their sweetness, they make a delicious gratin. Here, I've added a
seam of slightly salty, crunchy peanut butter with a hint of lime,
which brings a touch of satay-like flavour to the whole thing, but
leave this out if you prefer.
Heat the oven to 190 C/375 F/gas mark 5 and lightly oil a large
gratin dish. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices about 2
mm thick.
In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato slices with 1 tb of oil, the
chilli, garlic, cream, and some salt and pepper. Arrange half the
sweet potato slices in the gratin dish, spreading them out with your
fingertips you do not have to layer them piece by piece, but try to
ensure they are mostly lying flat.
Beat the peanut butter with the remaining 1 tb of oil, the lime zest,
and juice. Spread this mixture in dollops over the sweet potato in
the dish. Add the remaining sweet potato and spread out. Pour over
any cream remaining in the bowl.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, then remove
the foil. Bake for a further 30 minutes or so, until the sweet potato
is completely tender and the top is browned and crisp. For extra
crispness, finish under the grill for a couple of minutes, but watch
carefully. Serve piping hot with a crisp, bitter salad to balance the
gratin's sweet richness.
