This post is created in partnership with Truffle Toast Home.
Hey! It’s good to be back after a week off. We are going to try something different with the way we post recipes here from week to week. Instead of presenting you with a random assortment of whatever dishes strike our fancy, we are going to have more focused themes to center our recipes around. We are doing this to be more purposeful, exploratory and thorough with our recipe development, and to learn alongside our readers as we cook and elaborate on our themes. Ultimately, we want our recipes to be more useful to you, to help you avoid the dead end of making a recipe once and then never again, and to start more of a conversation and community around your suggestions for these themes. The themes can be based on all kinds of circumstances, from the time of year to a particular ingredient, type of dish, or a feeling we are shooting for. So, without further ado, starting with today’s post and until the end of this year, we will be focusing on holiday recipes – indulgent but healthy, full of whole foods and plant power, festive and fun. There will be things to serve at your holiday table, bring to a potluck, or even gift as a present. We are so excited to get this going!
We came back from a peaceful week in a North Carolina cabin (including some photos from the trip here) to an empty, disassembled kitchen and just today sold our stove on Craigslist unexpectedly fast. I am basically left with very little to nothing in terms of cooking space and equipment and feel a bit at a loss. I did set up a small cooking nook in our garage, but I’m hoping I won’t have to be there too long, as the kitchen renovations are well on their way. Thankfully, we got a bunch of holiday recipes pinned down while in NC (always-working-on-vacation-club here), starting with this lovely gratin.
It’s a perfect side dish for the holiday table for so many reasons – there are seasonal Brussels sprouts and sweet potato, it’s a single dish affair and simple in preparation, which will give you time to focus on other more elaborate main dishes, it’s quite striking in color, and so impressively tasty. It’s also worth mentioning that this is my new favorite treatment for Brussels sprouts. They stew in the spiced turmeric coconut milk and become incredibly tender, silky, almost buttery. I have an inkling that this would be a great dish for converting Brussels sprout skeptics into lovers. Besides the Brussels, there is a middle layer of sweet, caramelized onions, along with thinly sliced sweet potato, which gets slightly crispy at the edges after some time in the oven, then finished with a grating of garlic, pecans and nutmeg. So good!
Truffle Toast Home is a well-curated online shop for wine and specialty food accessories. They sent me a set of their stainless steel graters to try out, and I put them to the test while making this gratin. The set includes a fine grater, coarse grater and a shaver, all of which are hand held and great for finishing off all kinds of dishes. I used the shaver for the thinner shavings of sweet potato (I also sliced some), the coarse grater for garlic and pecans, and the finest one for grating whole nutmeg – all were a pleasure to work with. I was especially happy about how effortlessly I was able to grate the nutmeg, because at times grating whole nutmeg can seem like a daunting task. So whether you are in the market for some good graters or need a gift/stocking stuffer idea, consider these Truffle Toast Home ones. They come in a very presentable, gift-ready drawstring pouch, too ;)
To get 20% off your grater order, use code CUC7MCNV at checkout here until November 25th, 2016. Enjoy!
- 1½ tablespoons neutral coconut oil - divided, plus more for oiling baking pan
- 1 large yellow onion - sliced
- sea salt - to taste
- 3 large sweet potatoes - thinly sliced or shredded on mandolin
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts - thinly sliced or shredded
- 2 large garlic cloves - shredded or minced, divided
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon curry powder - preferably homemade, or to taste
- ⅓ cup pecans or walnuts - chopped or shredded
- whole nutmeg - to taste, for grating on top (optional)
- Warm 1 tablespoon coconut oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan. Add onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until caramelized and lightly golden, for about 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Prepare a medium baking dish or 10-inch cast-iron pan by oiling it with coconut oil.
- Arrange half of the sweet potatoes on the bottom of the dish/pan. Scatter caramelized onion on top.
- Combine Brussels sprouts, 1 garlic clove, pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper and the remaining ½ tbsp of coconut oil in a mixing bowl, toss to coat. Spread Brussels sprouts in a layer on top of the onions. Arrange the rest of the sweet potatoes on top.
- Combine coconut milk and curry powder, whisk or blend to mix. Pour mixture over the gratin.
- Combine pecans with the rest of the garlic, sea salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the potatoes. Cover your baking dish or pan with a lid or foil and bake for 25 minutes. Take off the cover and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until soft throughout.
- Garnish by grating nutmeg on top and serve right away. Leftovers are delicious when reheated in the pan, with some coconut oil and covered, over medium-low heat, or at 350° F in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.
2. I find that the best and most convenient way of preparing this gratin is baking it in a cast-iron pan. In the absence of my own kitchen and dishes, I made it in baking dishes for this post.
This post was created in partnership with Truffle Toast Home, with all opinions being genuine and our own. Thank you for considering the sponsors that help keep Golubka Kitchen going.
THEFOLIA says
Mmmm…ALL THE RIGHT SPICES IN THIS DISH. WE GRATE OUR NUTMEG FOR FRESHNESS IN OUR NEST TOO! HAPPY GRATING!
Anya says
Thank you :)
THEFOLIA says
Mmmm…all the right spices in this dish. We grate our nutmeg for freshness in our nest too. Happy grating!
Natalia says
Thanks for these beautiful pics, Anya! Palomahas changed so much, but still so beautiful! <3
I love Brussels sprouts especially with some polenta, but with the sweet patatoes- this sounds so good! I am so intrigued by this combination, thank you for this inspiration!
Anya says
Thank you Natalia!
Yes, she’s grown so much since her baby photos on this site :)
I really hope you get to try this one, it’s so easy and so good!