You didn’t really think you were getting through our collection of recettes without at least one pretentiously French-sounding thing, did you? Of course not. You know how we do.

There may very well be a well-established and controversial debate about what constitutes a proper gratin, so we’ll just leapfrog right over that toxicity and say that this is our version. If it’s not traditional enough, or too traditional for that matter, we just simply don’t care. This is our version.

This is one of those dishes that takes some extra time to produce, but the effort is well worth it because of how it really cranks up the flavor (and impressiveness) as compared to a mound of boiled and mashed yams. So let’s not be lazy, mm-kay?

Ingredients

3-4 large yams, peeled and sliced thin, about 1/8 inch

2 cups heavy cream

finely chopped fresh rosemary and thyme leaves

shredded parm

butter or some other lubricating fat

a small, paper French flag with a toothpick pole

Directions

Simmer the heavy cream with the chopped rosemary and thyme until it is reduced by half.

In the meantime, prepare the yams.

First, peel them. I know this is a pain in my bitch, but you can make your life easier by getting the shapeliest of yams.

Then slice the yams thin, no thicker than about 1/8 inch. Use a mandoline if you feel like slicing off your fingertips.

You didn’t forget about that cream and let it boil up all over your range, did you? Whew. Good. Ok, so strain out the herbs and set the reduced, herb-infused cream aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

You’re going to be layering those sliced yams, so locate a baking dish of appropriate size. It’s nicest if it is deep enough that you can line the sides with yam slices while also filling up to that same level with the layers. It’s a perfect vessel that you need.

Heavily lubricate a sheet of parchment paper with butter, olive oil, or spray-on oil. Butter is superior, of course. The sheet should be large enough to cover the bottom and interior walls of the baking dish.

Add the bottom layer. Tile the bottom of the pan with yam slices, brush with the herbed cream reduction, sprinkle gently with shredded parmesan, and tile the yam slices again. This is the layering process that you will repeat until you’re out of space or out of yams, but before you go all hogwild line the sides of the baking dish with yam slices like you’re setting up scaffolding. If you’re really good, you’ll manage to get the corners covered by unbroken slices that are going to end up looking like proud cornerstones when the cooking’s done and you’re plating…

Once you’ve set the first layer and lined the insides of the dish, repeat the layering process described above, adjusting ingredients as desired along the way. If you still have some of the herbed cream reduction left over once you’ve laid all your yams, just pour the rest of that delectable shit all over the top. Finish with a generous sprinkling of shredded parm.

Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes in preheated oven (400 F). Err towards overdone, because that just means it will be a little dry, whereas underdone is unpleasantly crunchy.

Now, you can always just let it cool a bit and then serve straight out of the dish, but it’s way more awesome if you can manage to invert it onto a serving plate. For this to work, you have had to achieve a series of perfect balances in various steps above. No need to go into all of that here; instead, jiggle the parchment a bit to see how structurally sound your layers are. If they look sloppy, shifting around, then just put a big spoon in someone’s hand and tell them to dig in. However, if the layers are bound, you can remove the whole yam gratin with the parchment and transfer it to a prep area. Then you flip your serving plate upside down and set it on the gratin, carefully clasp the edges of the parchment against the plate, and then quickly flip the whole thing over and carefully strip off the parchment. Voila! (There’s an accent I’m missing there, right?)

Stick a little toothpick with a French flag in it for garnish and serve.