Peppery Potato Gratin with Plenty of Protein
3 large baking potatoes
1 head of broccoli, broken into florets
1 small head of cauliflower, ditto
2 large onions, chopped finely
5 tablespoons oil
4 cloves chopped garlic or puree (more to taste)
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups soy or rice or oat milk
1 block of soft silken UHT tofu
1 tablespoons cracked black pepper
1 tablespoons salt (more to taste)
7 tablespoons vegan parmesan
1/2 cup bread crumbs
In a large pot, boil the potatoes until almost done. When slightly cooled, peel off the skin and slice into 1/4 thick coins. Put aside in a large baking/casserole dish. Steam the broccoli and cauliflower and mix with the potatoes in the dish.
Warm the oil and sauté the onions and garlic until soft and transparent. slowly, while stirring, add the flour. It should become very thick, like a dough, in the pan. Whisk in the soymilk to thin it out, and bring to a boil slowly on medium heat while stirring. Pour into a blender and add the silken tofu, pepper, salt, and 5 tablespoons of the parmesan. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Pour creamy mixture over the potatoes and vegetables, top with remaining parmesan, bread crumbs, and some more black pepper, and bake in a 250C oven for one hour until brown and bubbly.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Tried roasting the veggies and it was yummy, but a little salty for our taste. I'll cut the salt down a bit next time.
This meal is deeelish :)
I added more garlic, some diced jalapenos and broad beans for extra protein.
I made it last night for dinner and carried some for lunch today and it actually tastes better today !!
Just a note for those who said it took too long to prepare ... slice the potatoes into coins before you boil 'em, cuts the cooking time dramatically (abt 20mins to tender)
This turned out great! I think the secret is lots and lots of fresh-ground pepper, since the rest of the flavours are more cream- and potato-like. I also added a bit of red pepper flakes. It did seem to take quite a while to prepare, about an hour before baking, but the results were tasty. Also, it could easily be halved to make a nice casserole for two.
Adrian.
This came out pretty well. I didn't follow the recipe exactly but used it as inspiration for my casserole. I think a little bit of "bacon bits" sprinkled on top of each plateful would be nice. I didn't use the vegan parmesan but instead just sprinkled nutritional yeast over each serving. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I also didn't use the silken tofu. I just made a simple bechamel sauce and poured that over the cooked veggies and baked it off with a bread crumb topping. Delicious! Like a hopped up scalloped potato recipe.