Sweet potato gratin with rosemary and soy cream

Sweet potato gratin with rosemary and soy cream is not only suitable as a main course. It can also be refined by adding suitable spices.

Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes, also called sweet potatoes, are not actually potatoes at all. Although they grow as tubers in the ground, unlike ordinary potatoes they are not part of the nightshade family. The leaves of sweet potatoes are also edible and are used as food in tropical countries. The tubers, which have a high water content, cannot be stored for as long as conventional potatoes, but their shelf life can be increased by careful handling, such as avoiding bruising. Since certain varieties still contain significant amounts of cyanide, the selection should be made carefully.
Use in the kitchen: Sweet potatoes can be used to prepare a wide range of savoury and sweet dishes. The potato-like tubers come in different colours: yellow with red skin, orange-red with red-brown skin and white with light skin. The orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are best suited for the recipe presented here, as they taste the most aromatic and harmonise well with the rosemary.

Rosemary: The name "rosemary" is translated from Latin as "sea dam" and goes back to its distribution area, namely the coasts of the western and central Mediterranean, where it can also be found growing wild. Rosemary is now used as a spice and ornamental plant in many households and, due to its essential oils, is also a component of naturopathic applications. For example, it is used in the form of tea to stimulate circulation, reduce flatulence or to produce gastric and intestinal juices. Because of its strong spiciness, rosemary should be used in small doses, although fresh branches have a stronger aroma.

Soy cream: The soy cream in this recipe provides the necessary cohesion for the gratin. You can either make it yourself as mentioned under "Alternative preparation" or buy it commercially. If you buy the version, make sure that no carrageenan has been added. This is a thickener that is extracted from red algae and is suspected of having numerous negative effects on health. These include causing allergy-like symptoms, reducing the absorption of other food ingredients and impairing the immune system.

Enjoy the dish as a side dish: By reducing the amount of ingredients per person, this dish can be used very well as a side dish. You can also easily devote yourself to other recipes while you wait. If you use it as a side dish, we recommend a low-fat main dish, as this recipe has a high fat content simply because of the cream.

Let it rest: We recommend that you leave the gratin to rest for a few hours after preparation to achieve a particularly full flavour. However, if you don't have enough time, this step is not necessary.

Make your own soy cream: If you want to make your own soy cream, we recommend taking a quick look at the recipe we have provided: Soy cream with rapeseed oil.

Cream alternatives: If you don't want to use soy cream, you can use another plant-based cream. For example, coconut or oat cream go well with the dish. Since the amount of cream only has a limited influence on the overall taste, you should take your time choosing.
Chickpea flour can also be used instead of cream. When mixed with water, it creates a good binding mass that begins to set when heated - similar to eggs.