sweet potato and kohlrabi gratin with fenugreek

This, dear neighbors, is not technically a true gratin as it lacks the cheese or bread crumb topping ! We are sill in winter mode over here, with cold, sometimes freezing, temperatures at night and not many new ingredients at my disposal. But fenugreek goes very well with kohlrabi and adds an interesting touch to this dish, a perfect meatless evening meal, meatless but not vegan: I add two eggs to my mashed sweet potatoes to give it a little more body. I usually prepare it in two steps, cooking the vegetables the day before I actually bake the dish. Very handy when dealing with my overbooked calendar 🏃🏼‍♀️! (explanations given after the recipe)

Ingredients (for two hungry people)

– 400 to 500g sweet potato (about 1 lb)

– 200 to 250g kohlrabi (½lb)

– 2 tsp olive oil

– ¼ fenugreek (powder), organic

– ¼ tsp all natural sea salt, no additives

– freshly ground white pepper, optional

– 3 TBSP water

– 2 eggs

– 35g rice flour (1.25 oz)

– some non hydrogenated margarine (optional)

How to:

(As I indicated in the introduction, steps 1 and 2 can be done ahead. Just keep the cooked vegetables refrigerated until baking time.)

1. Steam peeled sweet potato, cut into big chunks, for about 30 minutes or until soft*.

2. Meanwhile, peel and dice kohlrabi. Saute for a few minutes in 2 tsp hot olive oil with ¼ tsp both fenugreek and salt, and some white pepper. Add 3 TBSP water, lower heat, and cover. Cooking time is about 10 minutes. It is wise to keep an eye on the kohlrabi, lifting the lid occasionally, and adding more water if necessary! 

*If you have more cooked sweet potato than necessary, you can add it to a pancake batter – a welcome addition if like me you make it without any added sugar !

Pre-heat oven to 200°C / 395 °F, non fan

I keep the cooked vegetables refrigerated in glass jars.

3. Blend sweet potato with 2 eggs. Add 35g rice flour, then cooked kohlrabi, mix well and transfer to a greased baking dish.

You can then draw pretty lines with the back of a fork and add a few dabs of margarine on top.

Bake between 40 and 45 minutes.

Gratin served after a non-negotiable green salad 😉

 

The month of March, now over, has been quite busy for me ! Among many other things, as an elected representative of our non-profit complementary health insurance, I contributed to the organization of several events that took place in my area, all on the theme « Mental Health in the Digital Age ». I could not attend every single event but I did sit at the back of a classroom one afternoon while some twenty-three fifth graders were asked about their personal use of screens. One of the children there said he could spend up to 7 hours (I kid you not 🤯!) on a week day 😫, in front of his tablet – or cell phone, or console, I can’t remember which it was. I also attended a very interesting conference on the impact (positive or negative) of screens on children, depending on how old they are. Basically the speaker said that it would make no sense to completely ban children from watching all screens since they are a part of our lives, but as far as young ones are concerned their usage should be limited and most importantly done under parental supervision and guidance. Nothing surprising here! He also insisted on the importance of exchanges and real face-to-face communication among the members of a family, so that a child will eventually grow into a responsible adult who will know how to use modern technology without letting it run his/her life.

With all these events and the meetings leading up to them, very logically I ended up spending a lot less time blogging in front of my own screen, dear neighbors! But I will be back shortly with another recipe, and something a little less serious to share with you 😊.  Until then, take care!

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