Recipes: Sweet potato & spinach bake

If you're after some substantial comfort food on a budget then this vegetarian bake is just the thing. Add lamb chops for the meat eaters

• 300ml single cream (or double cream for a really creamy texture)
• 1 garlic clove , peeled
• 2 sprigs thyme or rosemary
• 250g bag frozen spinach
• freshly grated nutmeg
• butter , for greasing
• 850g sweet potatoes , peeled and thinly sliced (about 3mm thick)
• 25g grated hard cheese , such as cheddar, Parmesan or veggie alternative

MAKE IT NON-VEGGIE

• 2 lamb chops
• few sprigs thyme or rosemary
• 1 tsp olive oil per portion

  

  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the cream, garlic and herb sprigs into a small saucepan and slowly bring to just below boiling. Turn off the heat, season and leave to infuse.
  2. Put the spinach into a colander, pour over a kettle of boiling water and leave to drain for a few mins. Then squeeze out as much water as possible. Season with salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
  3. Grease an ovenproof dish generously with butter and spread half the sweet potato slices across the bottom. Top with a layer of spinach, then the remaining potato. Pour over the cream mixture, through a sieve to remove the garlic and herbs, then sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 45-55 mins until golden and tender.
  4. Meanwhile, if you're serving the chops, heat a griddle or frying pan and finely chop the leaves from the herb sprig. Rub over the chops with the oil and some seasoning, then griddle or fry for 3-4 mins on each side or until cooked to your liking. Leave bake, and chops if serving, to rest for 5 mins, then serve with a big green salad.

  PER SERVING

  383 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 48g, fat 19 g, saturated fat 11g, fibre 7g, sugar 15g, salt 0,61 g