Give me the carbs. Give me the dairy. Stretchy pants season is here, and I am embracing every festive bite.
Recently I found myself elbow-deep in a sweet potato gratin made from heart-stopping amounts of full-fat cheese and heavy cream. It was so delicious that I craved it again before I finished eating it. That made me wonder whether I could tame this unapologetically indulgent recipe into a reasonably nutritious, regular rotation dish.
Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and B vitamins. They get to stay in our new and improved recipe. However, the 16 ounces of buttery Gruyere and cheddar cheese in the original recipe deserved a critical eye. I substituted a single cup of grated Parmesan. The naturally lower-fat Parmesan delivers rich, savory notes that pair perfectly with sweet potatoes.
What substitution magic could replace the heavy whipping cream, without sacrificing flavor or texture? Not whole milk, skim milk or plant milk. They were all at best bland and at worst, watery. Onion cream, which is a puree made from roasted onions, offered the thick texture I wanted, but its strong onion flavor overwhelmed the sweet potatoes. I needed to keep the heavy whipping cream, but I reduced its volume by half. And I made up the difference with … whipped tofu.
Friends, I was surprised too. But I shouldn’t have been. Tofu has a creamy texture without the saturated fat and cholesterol of heavy cream. It has no discernible flavor, which means you can add an entire package to the recipe and taste only the other ingredients. As a bonus, the tofu provides plenty of plant-based protein, which means you can enjoy this healthier gratin as a side dish or the main event, even when the resolutions of the new year appear.
Healthier Sweet Potato Gratin
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