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Scalloped sweet potato casserole with apples, gorgonzola and spiced butter, topped with an oat-pepita crumble.
Images of smiling, multi-generation families crowded around tables heavy with roast turkeys and casseroles are everywhere this time of year. The message seems to be - the more people you gather together at your home at Thanksgiving, the better. But the problem is, it creates expectations that can't always be met. As a result, many feel that if their Thanksgiving doesn’t look like this, it’s not a good one; that something is lacking that year.
I say, “That’s crazy thinking.” Thanksgiving is the holiday that holds the widest range of memories for me, and most of them were great whether I was with a large group or very small.
As an only child of parents who relocated far from family, some Thanksgivings found us ordering our roast turkey and stuffing at a restaurant, just the three of us. Other years we joined gatherings of friends and neighbors. While the grownups shared news of the neighborhood or the nation, us teenagers huddled together to complain about homework and the unfair teachers who assigned it, or giggled about our latest crush.
As an adult who didn’t marry for a very long time, “too long” according to my dad, Thanksgiving was often large, rambling dinners for orphans - adults living too far from family to make back-to-back trips home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. One year, a gang of twenty of us 30-somethings kicked off the ski season up in Tahoe by christening a house we had rented for the season with a huge Thanksgiving dinner. We lined up two long coffee tables, end-to-end, and dined on the floor in front of a roaring fireplace while snow fell outside.
For many years I spent Thanksgiving with either Ina or Gwen, both close friends who gathered me close into their families, and for several years now, my husband and I have traveled back east for some wonderful family Thanksgivings, some with four generations of family sharing a meal. But my favorite year was the Thanksgiving I turned 50. Ten of us drove up to Sea Ranch, a seaside community two hours north of San Francisco, for a weekend of cooking, hiking, wine tasting, and friendship.
I’ve also had my share of solitary Thanksgivings through the years, with hikes in the countryside far from boisterous crowds, sighting a flurry of hundreds of birds suddenly taking off from a protected inlet, and quiet dinners at inns tucked away in the trees. I enjoyed those years just as much, but they were very different. Those Thanksgivings were days of quiet reflection with heartful thanks for the loved ones in my life, and remembrances of those who were gone. Those years were about reconnecting to nature, and to myself, and being grateful to pause my life for a few days.
So if your Thanksgiving gathering is small this year, even a gathering of one or two, it can still be a memorable day filled with a different kind of abundance, surely as nurturing to the soul as spending it with a crowd of family and friends. It’s just different; not more, and definitely not less.
What does this have to do with a scalloped potatoes dish? Very little, except that you can make a large dish of it for a crowd, or scale it down to a serving for one or two. Both are perfect.
Cooking Notes:
- I use Emile Henry mini casserole dishes for this dish that measure 7” X 5½” X 1½” deep (not including the handles). The recipe is per casserole dish and can be easily quadrupled without making any adjustments.
- Feel free to adjust the spice amount upward, particularly if the spices aren’t new.
- These little casseroles can be completely baked a day in advance and reheated in a 350˚F oven.
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Scalloped Sweet Potato Casserole with Apples
Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 1 small sweet potato peeled (about ½ pound)
- 1 apple cored and peeled
- a few shavings of red onion
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ยฝ tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar
- โ teaspoon cinnamon
- โ teaspoon cardamom
- โ teaspoon nutmeg
- โ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon gorgonzola cheese
- ¼ cup Half and Half
- 2 tablespoon oats
- 1 tablespoon pepitas
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350˚F. Thinly slice the sweet potato, ideally using a mandolin. I slice mine on the thinnest setting of my small tabletop mandolin. Thickly slice the apple into ¼” thick pieces using a sharp knife.
- Melt the butter, coconut sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt together. (I zap mine in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds, and stir.)
- Arrange two layers of thin sweet potato slices in the small casserole dish. Spoon over ½ of the spicy butter. Arrange the sliced apples and onions on top and dot with gorgonzola. Layer the remaining sweet potato slices on top. Pour the half and half over the layers.
- Stir the oats and pepitas into the remaining spicy butter and spoon onto the top of the casserole.
- Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove the plastic and slide it onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. The potato slices should be fork tender, and the casserole should be bubbly hot.
- Serve warm.
cheri
Hi Susan, what a wonderful side dish, love that you added cardamom. Happy Holiday to you!!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Cheri! A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Suzanne
A really wonderful dish Susan Happy Thanksgiving you and your family, Your post is rings true, it doesn't matter how many or few are at your table for the holiday it can always be memorable.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Absolutely agree, Suzanne! A very happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too!
mjskit
Loved ready about the many ways that you have spent Thanksgiving! Having gotten married at a very early age (20), we have spent the majority of our Thanksgivings with family, but then we try to sneak off for Christmas. I'll never forget spending Christmas Day crosscountry skiing and not seeing a soul. Your casserole is a fabulous twist the tradition sweet potato casserole. I love the addition of the apples and onion and then the Gorgonzola... YUM!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks MJ! I love the idea of cross-country skiing on Christmas and not seeing a soul. That really strikes a chord in me. It feels so peaceful.
mjskit
It was extremely peaceful! At the end of the day we went and had a soak in the Lodge's hot tub. Since we were the only guests, it too was quite peaceful. One of my most favorite Christmas Days! Hope you have a Wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!
laurasmess
This is just gorgeous! I love the idea of the savoury crumble on the top with the oats and spices... what a great combination with apple, onion and sweet potatoes (not to mention the creamy cheese... yum). Happy thanksgiving lovely! xx
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Laura! The crumble really makes it work. It adds a nice texture that's crunchy-chewy ๐
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
So many great memories of Thanksgiving - and it doesn't have to be traditional to be great! What a great recipes - I love the combo of sweet potatoes and apples.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Erin! Thanksgiving is my favorite time of all holidays ๐
Laura
This looks like such an amazing alternative to the Sweet Potato Casserole, and twice as delicious!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Laura!
The Food Hunter
Such a great combination
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! We eat them up almost as soon as I make them ๐
Choc Chip Uru
Aah lovely autumn combo, beautiful colours and flavours in this! ๐
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks CCU !!!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist
Susan, these are wonderful. I am cooking this year for an entirely new bunch of people in my life and for some reason feel compelled to make all new dishes instead of my tried and true dishes that I have been making for years. Sweet potatoes was my last "what am I doing with them?" dish and I think I have found my answer.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I totally understand that, Michelle! It seems that every time we have people come to dinner, I'm making something completely new instead of going to my old standbys that I KNOW will work. LOL. I hope you like this dish as much as we do!! A very happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!
Sherron Watson
Susan, this looks amazing! I love sweet potatoes and looking for new ideas daily. Have a great holiday.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Sherron! A wonderful holiday season to you and your family too!!
Oui, Chef
Love this combination of flavors and textures, Susan. Hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving!
David Ryan
I haven't tried this recipe before. Well now I sure will!
alan slimm
Scallops are a treat.I love them with cream cheese cilantro and garlic.