Vegan potato gratin (easy)
Vegan potato gratin (easy)
Happy Wednesday everyone! Outside is truly miserable right now (yup, you guessed it – British speciality = rain) and as I know that some of you are probably in Thankgiving preparation mode, I decided that this calls for a super simple yet deliciously comforting dish. And if there is one food that signifies comfort almost across borders, it’s potatoes!
This dish is super easy to make and makes for a fantastic festive meal side or you could be like me and just attack it with a spoon as soon as it cools off enough not to burn your mouth.
I wanted it to be easy to make and suitable for people with nut allergies so while I already have a delicious vegan potato gratin recipe on my website, this one does not use any cashews and is made in a single skillet from the beginning to the end.
If you don’t own an oven safe skillet, don’t panic, you can use a pan for most of the steps and them simply transfer everything to an overn proof dish before baking. Just make sure you go for a dish that guarantees a similarily snug fit. For my bake I used a 26 cm or 10 inch cast iron pan.
Anyway, enough talking, let’s have a look at all the ingredients you need and a few simple steps that will get this dish on the table in front of you. Enjoy!
Start off by sauteeing shallots and garlic (and herbs) in some olive oil and vegan butter until soft and fragrant. Once done, remove them from the skillet – no need to wash it – and set aside.
Heat up a little more olive oil and vegan butter and once the latter has melted, add some potato starch. Whisk all of the three ingredients together and allow the starch to bubble gently for 60 seconds or so.
Next whisk in plant milk slowly and allow the mixture to come to a gentle simmer so that it thickens. Season with miso diluted in a bit of plant milk, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
Return fried shallot and garlic mixture to the skillet, stir everything well and adjust the seasoning to your taste remembering that potatoe slices are unseasoned so be bold!
Finally arrange slighly overlapping potato slices on top of the sauce, leaving approximately a third of the slices visible above the liquid. Brush the exposed potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle the top with black pepper and a few more thyme leaves.
Bake in a hot oven until potatoes are fully cooked, all the excess liquid has evaporated and the top is golden brown.
- 35 ml / 2½ tbsp olive oil, divided
- 30 g / 2 tbsp vegan butter (or more olive oil)
- 2 shallots, diced finely
- 3 garlic cloves, diced finely
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped small
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
- 750 g / 1.6 lb starchy (not waxy) potatoes
- 1½ tbsp / 18 g potato starch*
- 360 ml / 1½ cup soy, almond (or other plant) milk*
- 2 tsp white miso paste
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- heaped ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, adjust to taste
- generous amount of black pepper, adjust to taste
- ¾ tsp coarse salt (I used Maldon), adjust to taste
- Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F no fan (or 180° C / 355° F on a fan setting).
- Heat up a large cast iron skillet on low heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil (15 ml) and a tablespoon of vegan butter (15 g).
- Once vegan butter melts, add shallots and sautee them on low heat until softened, then add garlic, chopped rosemary leaves and thyme.
- Sautee on low heat, stirring frequently, until garlic has softened (don’t let it brown) then remove them from the skillet and set aside.
- Wash the potatoes well, dry and slice evenly using a mandolin, on 3 mm / 1/8″ setting. If your potatoes have thick or very blemished skins, you may want to peel them first.
- Add another tablespoon of oil and vegan butter to the same skillet (no need to wash it).
- Once vegan butter melts, whisk in potato starch. Carry on whisking for 60 more seconds allowing the mixture to bubble gently.
- Gradually add plant milk (hold a splash of it back to dilute miso with) while whisking. Allow the mixture to come to a gentle simmer to thicken.
- Season with miso diluted in a splash of plant milk, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, black pepper and salt.
- Return fried garlic and shallot mixture to the skillet and give everything a good stir. Adjust the seasoning to taste remebering that potatoes have not been seasoned, so don’t be scared to overseason the mixture a little.
- Arrange partially overlapping potato slices in a circular pattern so that approximately a third of the slices is visible above the liquid. Brush the exposed potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle the top with black pepper and a few more thyme leaves.
- Cover the pan with a piece of kitchen foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil, carry on baking for 10 minutes then increase the temperature to 220° C / 428° F for the last 10-15 minutes or so. The dish is ready when potatoes are cooked through, all of the excess liquid has evaporated and the top is lightly golden.
*POTATO STARCH: if you don’t care about keeping this dish gluten-free, you can use plain flour instead.
*MISO PASTE: If gluten-free, seek out gluten-free miso paste. It is often based on chickpeas, rice or millet.
PAN SIZE: I used a 26 cm / 10 inch cast iron pan.
Made this for dinner this evening with a green salad and really loved the creamy texture and taste. Another winner from your recipes!
Thanks and keep the cooking coming!
Your website blog has become a real goto source of inspiration for us!
I'm happy to hear that you are thinking of making this dish for your Thanksgiving dinner. In terms of the vessel, I actually used a 10 inch skillet but if you don't own one of that size either, simply sautee aromatics and make bechamel sauce in a frying pan and then bake the dish in a smiliar size baking dish - it does not have to be circular - you can arrange potatoes in parellel rows - as long as it fits everything snugly. Hope this helps and that you will enjoy it. x Ania