Sweet potato and chicken gratin casserole

This is comfort food built entirely from real ingredients. It started as gratin dauphinois, the rich French potato bake, and here the potato, the dairy, the cheese, and the pepper are all replaced by ingredients that nourish. What is left is still creamy, still layered, still the kind of dish you want on a cold evening.

The thin-sliced sweet potato is a source of beta-carotene, the kale folds in leafy-green polyphenols and fiber that feed a healthier gut community, and the shredded chicken adds protein for repair. The coconut milk reduces down into the creamy layer that dairy once provided, carrying garlic and fresh thyme so every bite tastes fully like itself.

The chicken came from an animal, so using leftover shredded meat here is a good way to honor it and waste nothing. When it comes out of the oven golden at the edges, set it down with a little care and look at it before you serve. Bringing presence and a calm body to the table is part of how the meal serves you, not an extra step.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 15 garlic cloves, sliced or smashed
• 3 cups chopped kale
• 1/2 pound shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
• a few sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, about 3/4 pound each, sliced thin, about 1/8 inch
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Method

Heat the oven to 400 F. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic and onion briefly, just until fragrant and softening.

Add the chopped kale and the shredded chicken and cook a few minutes, until the kale wilts down.

Pour in the coconut milk, add the thyme, and bring it to a boil.

Add the thin sweet potato slices and the salt, lower the heat, and simmer on low 7 to 10 minutes, gently turning the slices so they soften evenly in the coconut milk.

Transfer everything to a greased casserole dish, arranging the sweet potato slices so they lie flat, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender and the coconut milk has been absorbed. Bake a little less for a wetter, saucier gratin. Bake time varies with how thin you sliced the potato, the variety, your altitude, and your oven, so judge by tenderness rather than the clock.

Best fresh; keeps 1 to 2 days refrigerated.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*