Vegan MoFo VI / Sweet Potato & Leftover Gratin

For Sunday night dinner, I had some leftover risotto with different vegetables. I decided to spice it up a bit, and in my mind I had the recipe for a shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes, so that's my take on that!

Sweet Potato Top-Layer:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
1-2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegan butter
pepper, herbs, paprika, curry

Cut the sweet potatoes in small pieces. Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté the sweet potatoe pieces for a few minutes, and sprinkle with sugar and salt. Add some water, just until the pieces are covered. Now cook until tender. Drain the sweet potatoes, and mash with vegan butter. Add spices if desired.

At first, I mixed my vegetable risotto with about 2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast, and added some mushrooms, that I simply roasted for a few minutes and added some spices. I spread the risotto-mixture in a greased baking dish and on top I added some caramelized onions and lastly I spread the mashed sweet potatoes and some chopped walnuts. Bake with 160°C for about 25 minutes and let sit for 5 minutes before serving!

Notes:
You can use almost any leftovers as a filling. If it is too dry, add some vegetable broth, mixed with some soy sauce.

Trust me, if I say so, this was utterly delicious!! I couldn't get enough! The balance between sweet and salty is perfect, and makes this improvised dish very special!