This decadent side dish is flavorful and really lights up a celebration table. I served this dish for Thanksgiving and my non-veg guests were shocked that it was so delicious. They didn’t mind at all that it was dairy free. In turn, this dish is much lower in saturated fat and cholesterol free – unlike a traditional scalloped potatoes recipe.
Triple Spiced Scalloped Potatoes – Dairy Free!
vegan, serves a crowd
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 potatoes, mixed variety-thinly sliced, roughly peeled
*I used one large russet, 2 medium red, 1 medium Yukon gold
1 cup + 2 Tbsp plain soy milk
3/4 cup soy milk creamer
3/4 cup vegan sour cream
1 Tbsp vegan buttery spread
1 1/2 Tbsp vegan mayo
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1-5 dashes of cayenne
2-4 tsp grated fresh ginger
4 leaves fresh sage, chopped
3 Tbsp of vegan white cheese, sliced thin
Directions:
1. Wash and scrub your potatoes. Roughly peel them with a veg peeler. Remove any dark spots.
2. Using a mandolin slicer, slice the potatoes into thin disks. They should be translucent to look through and not able to stand firm when you hold a slice vertically-it should flop over to one side. Gather slices in a large bowl. You should have about 5 cups of potato slices.
3. Add 3 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar and a few dashes of pepper to your potatoes. Toss well. Set aside.
4. Place a soup pot over med-high heat. Dissolve the arrowroot into the cold soy milk. Then add that soy milk, soy creamer, sour cream, maple syrup, vegan buttery spread and Vegenaise. Stir until the mixture becomes liquid and is simmering.
5. Melt in about 1 Tbsp of your vegan cheese.
6. Add in, while constantly stirring, the whole wheat flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne and crushed thyme. Continue stirring briskly. The mixture should be thickening a bit at this point-and cooking down as some of the steam rises off. Total time on med-high heat: around 5 minutes.
7. Turn the heat to low and continue stirring as you add in your freshly grated ginger and fresh sage bits.
9. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for a minute. Then transfer to a high speed blender. Blend *carefully* on low until the mixture is perfectly creamy. This will get out any lumps and smooth out the herbs and spices. Pour the sauce into a medium bowl. You could also use an immersion blender and skip the ‘transferring’ part.
10. Start layering! Grab your potatoes and lay the first layer in the bottom of your gratin serving/baking dish. You may want to lightly spray-grease the bottom of the dish.
11. When your first layer is complete, evenly spread about 3 Tbsp of sauce over the potatoes. You can use a spoon or a pastry/saucing brush to distribute the sauce. The ‘prettiness’ of the design of the potatoes is not important at this stage of the layering process.
12. Continue layering and saucing the potatoes for about 3-4 more layers. About 2-3 Tbsp of sauce per thin layer. The sauce is bold, so a little goes a long way. Then once you get towards the top of the dish you will want to start layering your potato slices in elegant rows. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the top potato layer.
13. Then do one final ring of potatoes around the edge of the dish only.
14. Add a ring of your cheese slices (see images) and lightly sprinkle the entire top layer with fine black pepper.
15. Cover tightly with foil. (Spray foil first with olive oil so the cheese doesn’t stick.)
16. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes of baking time, remove the foil and turn the oven to broil. This will crisp the top potato edges and brown and bubble the cheese and sauce. A deeper baking dish will require a tad longer cooking time – test tenderness of potatoes in center for doneness – a skewer or toothpick in center of dish will assist.
17. Let cool at least ten minutes before serving so the sauce can set and your guests don’t get burnt tongues. Gratin dishes are perfect for a dinner party because they generally stay hot for a good amount of time.
18. Garnish with fresh sage leaves.
