SWEET POTATOES, CARAMELISED ONIONS AND TOMME DE CHÈVRE GRATIN WITH BACON CRUMBLE TOPPING

By Sophie Wright, chef and Easy Cheesey Chèvre Ambassador

The dish is full of flavour due to the Tomme de Chèvre’s earthy, rich tones and is perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the caramelised onions and sweet potatoes. This is a wonderful recipe for any time of the year. It’s great to serve hot or cold, as a side dish with a pork chop or as a main with some seasonal vegetables.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Pre heat the oven to 190oc

INGREDIENTS

300g Tomme de Chèvre, grated

5 large sweet potatoes

75g butter, plus a little extra for greasing

3 tbsp olive oil

3 large white onions, peeled and finely sliced

2 cloves sliced garlic

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

200mls chicken stock

100g stale bread

8-10 rashers cooked pancetta or smoked streaky bacon

METHOD

1. Place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add half the butter and 1 tbsp of the olive oil.
2. Once the butter has melted, add the sliced onion, garlic and thyme and allow to cook and caramelise for about 15 minutes. You want the onions to be very soft and sweet. Make sure you move them around in the pan from time to time so they don’t burn. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Peel the sweet potatoes and sliced them as thinly as you can, using a mandolin if you have one.
4. Finally, put the stale bread and cooked pancetta into a food processor and blitz with 2 tbsp of olive oil until you have fine bread crumbs. Season with black pepper and mix well.
5. To assemble the dish, take a 20cm baking dish and grease the inside with butter. Place a layer of the sweet potatoes in the bottom of the dish before adding a couple of tbsp of the caramelised onions and a layer of grated French goat’s cheese. Repeat this process twice more, pressing down in between each layer.
6. Pour over the chicken stock, cover with grease-proof paper and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Once the gratin has started to bubble slightly, remove from the oven and discard the paper. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the bacon and bake for a further 25 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Tomme de Chèvre is available from supermarket deli counters and specialist cheese shops.

For further information or recipes please visit: www.frenchgoatscheese.com