Upgrading Thanksgiving Sides

Sweet Potato Focaccia with Garlic & Thyme (V)

Excerpt from cookbook: ‘Fluffy and soft, this focaccia is a delicious partner to the Autumn Roasted Chicken with Stuffing (p. 169) or Sausage & Spinach–Stuffed Shells in Mushroom Cheese Sauce (p. 150), but it also suits summer dishes and can be sliced and grilled to serve with anything barbecued.’

Ingredients

• 4⅓ cups (650 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 cups (225 g) coarsely grated sweet potatoes
• ¼ cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 1 Tbsp (4 g) chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for sprinkling
• 4 tsp (20 g) coarse or flaked sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (2¼ tsp/7 g) pkg instant yeast
• 1½ cups (375mL) lukewarm water

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour and grated sweet potatoes to coat the sweet potato pieces. Add the olive oil, thyme, salt, garlic, yeast and lukewarm water. Stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes too difficult (the mixture will be rough and shaggy), then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl (no need to wash), cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise on the counter for an hour, until doubled in size.
2. After the first hour, punch the dough down to deflate it, cover the bowl and let rise for 45 minutes, again until doubled in size.
3. Turn the dough out onto an 11 × 17-inch (28 × 43 cm) parchment- lined baking tray and spread the dough to fill it. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
5. Uncover the dough and use your fingertips to dimple the focaccia. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the focaccia is a deep golden brown.
6. Immediately from the oven, brush the hot bread with olive oil and sprinkle with a little chopped thyme and sea salt. Cool the focaccia in the tray on a rack for at least 30 minutes.

Note: Like most breads, focaccia is best served the day it is baked. Because of the olive oil in it, it can also keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Hasselback Potato Gratin (GF)

Excerpt from cookbook: ‘Hasselback potatoes are named for the Hasselbacken Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden, where they were first served in the 1950s. Individual potatoes are thinly sliced vertically but not all the way through, keeping them intact, and then basted with garlic butter before roasting.

This gratin recipe is a twist on the original preparation and offers the best of two textures we love in potato dishes: the crispiness of the potato tops after roasting in a high-temperature oven and the creamy sauciness of a gratin at the bottom.’

Ingredients

• About 4 lb (1.8 kg) unpeeled, washed Yukon Gold potatoes
• ¼ cup (60 g) clarified butter
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
• ½ cup (125 mL) 2% milk
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
2. Before slicing your potatoes, line them in your roasting dish to make sure they can nestle in tightly—you may need to add or remove a potato.
3. To slice, place two wooden spoons parallel to each other on your cutting board and place a potato between them. Make slices into the potato that are ⅛ inch (3 mm) apart. The wooden spoons will stop your knife from cutting all the way through, keeping the potato together. Place this potato back in the roasting pan and repeat with the remaining potatoes.
4. Brush the potatoes with clarified butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes begin to brown and blister a little on top.
5. While the potatoes bake, prepare the sauce. In a saucepot over low heat, heat the cream, milk, shallots, thyme and a little salt and pepper to infuse the flavours, about10 minutes.
6. At 40 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and reduce the temperature to 400°F (200°C). Pour the sauce overtop the potatoes, making sure they each get coated with the cream as it runs off and into the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes to cool before serving.

Note: The gratin will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat with a splash of cream or milk in a loosely covered baking dish in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 20 minutes.