Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratin
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A&M say: Far from a "sweet" sweet potato dish, these individual gratins get a big punch of flavor from the many layers of diced pancetta and Gruyere. Using a muffin tin allows for easy portioning, and if you choose your sweet potatoes carefully, the slices will fit perfectly into each compartment, which yields more polished personal gratins (if you care about that sort of thing; take note, Type A's!). Since this dish relies only on a few ingredients, the quality of each matters greatly. The more intense the Gruyere, the deeper the dish goes into savory territory. We say: bring it on! - A&M
cnevertz says: Making these in muffins tins allows you to easily multiply the recipe for your guests! - cnevertz
Serves 12
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (1 pound)
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced small (1 cup)
- 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Peel the sweet potato and slice into 1/8-inch thick rounds.
- Generously coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Put one slice of the sweet potato into each cup.
- Top each with about a teaspoon of the shredded gruyere and diced pancetta; sprinkle with a little salt and white pepper.
- Repeat twice, overlapping small sweet potato slices if necessary to make a layer and use all slices.
- Add any leftover cheese and pancetta on top.
- Spoon a tablespoon of heavy cream on top of each cup.
- Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover pan loosely with the foil, sprayed side down.
- Bake 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 20 to 25 minutes until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin and serve as a side dish to your favorite main course.
- This recipe is a Wildcard Contest Winner!
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Tags: entertaining, fall, fall, Holidays, serves a crowd, serves a crowd, stir fry
9 days ago gustus
My experience was much like housepanther's. The little pucks that could be chiseled out of the muffin tin were more trouble than they were worth. I like the combination of ingredients, but will combine them as a casserole in the future.
28 days ago PaulaE
My guests raved over this dish tonight. I used diced prosciutto instead of pancetta and it was savory, rich, even a bit mysterious. I dipped paper towel in olive oil and wiped the non-stick muffin tin cups. Removing the "cupcakes" was easy. Next time I plan to slice the yams lengthwise and do the layers in a small oval baking dish.
about 1 month ago deedee1200
Just a thought, since I haven't made this yet, but I would think those parchment paper cupcake liners would work nicely here, especially for those folks who are having sticking problems and/or who don't like to use cooking spray (me!).
4 months ago housepanther
Meh. I wasn't impressed. Even though I used a nonstick muffin pan *and* used cooking spray, these stuck so badly that they came out in chunks. They also shrunk so much they were like little tiny pucks on the plate. There are much more tasty ways to use pancetta and sweet potatoes. It's a cute idea, but I won't be making this again.
9 months ago SJR
I made these again last night using the large muffin pan (6 muffins). I used swiss cheese, as well as skim milk (instead of butter or cream). In addition, I used reconstituted porcini mushrooms, cut up into small pieces. These were absolutely superb!
9 months ago SJR
This is really good & such a clever idea! I made this tonight, but with a few changes. First, sautéed 5 shallots & 1 large clove of garlic (all minced); I omitted the pancetta. Second, I used a parmesan/asiago blend of cheese instead of the gruyere. Third, I put a handful of sliced almonds in with the shallots & garlic mixture. Fourth, since I forgot to buy cream or milk to drizzle over the top, I used melted butter.
The result: We really liked these but I would do a few things differently next time. Next time, I would use the suggested gruyere or swiss cheese instead of the parmesan/asiago blend because the saltiness of this cheese overpowered the natural taste of the sweet potato. I also would be sure to have milk or cream on hand, as drizzling butter over the top made them really greasy. I also may consider making these in a large muffin tin (6 muffins) since I would be able to add lots of layers to make they thicker. When using the small muffin tin (12 muffins), these little things shrunk to half their size, so there wasn't a lot of substance to them. Overall, delicious - awesome idea. We will make these a lot!
about 1 year ago bethk1126
I used the shallot suggestion instead of pancetta. Instead of using muffin tins, I simply sliced the sweet potatoes into rounds, cooked for 25 minutes, added the sauteed shallots and gruyere and cooked another 5 minutes. They're wonderful!
about 1 year ago Pixelmadchen
I just made this with blue cheese instead of gruyere. A muffin pan wasn't handy so I made it in a small shallow pan. Really delicious and will make it again.
about 1 year ago DeArmasA
SOOO delicious!! Made it tonight and it was a huge hit with the family - thanks for sharing!!
about 1 year ago Sigita
I made these for Christmas dinner. They were AMAZING. Be sure and spray the muffin tins very thoroughly . A bit labor intensive - but well worth it and a very nice "potion " serving size- looks nice on a platter. will for sure make again. Yum.
about 1 year ago niki5959
I also made these for Thanksgiving and everyone loved them! What a nice change of pace for sweet potatoes. My husband usually takes our Thanksgiving leftovers to hunting camp but I asked him to leave the leftover sweet potatoes for me. :-) Yum!
about 1 year ago singing_baker
Made these for thanksgiving and everyone went nuts for them! Great recipe!
over 1 year ago KitchenLittle
Anyone try making this in a larger casserole dish instead of single servings? I'm trying it for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but wanted to see if anyone else had given this a shot.
over 1 year ago KitchenLittle
Anyone try making this in a larger casserole dish instead of single servings? I'm trying it for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but wanted to see if anyone else had given this a shot.
over 1 year ago vbeale
This is soooo delicious and easy! Great for entertaining. I substitute shallots for the pancetta to make it vegetarian. Thanks for sharing!
about 2 years ago Phred61
Great recipe! Made these for a Super Bowl Snack and they were great!
about 2 years ago Ms. T
Wonderful recipe. I made for Christmas dinner as a side to roasted game hens, and it was a big hit. Do you typically saute the pancetta to crisp it up before you assemble the gratin? I wasn't sure, so I did, but if it's not necessary, I'll save the step next time.
about 2 years ago aislenine
Can these be made ahead and reheated?
about 2 years ago lapadia
Agree, great Wildcard pick...Congratulations!
about 2 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
Congrats on the wildcard win! Sounds yummy! Wow, you really really like sweet potatoes, don't you? ;-)