The latest culinary trend to sweep the land of milk and honey is total abstinence from both. Veganism—refraining from all meat and animal products, including dairy, eggs, and even honey—is taking off in Israel, where few people had even heard of the term a few years ago.
Vegan Potatoes au Gratin
April 02, 2021
Ingredients
- 12medium-sized potatoes, peeled and sliced as thin as possible
- 6medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4Tbsp coconut oil (plus more to grease pans)
- 4Tbsp olive oil (plus more for sprinkling)
- Grated nutmeg to taste
- Salt to taste
- Freshly grated black pepper to taste
- 1small bundle of fresh thyme
- 2-3brazil nuts
Preparation
This is a vegan version of potatoes au gratin, using cream of sweet potato instead of cream.
- Step 1
Cook the sweet potato cubes in a pan with salted boiling water for about 20 minutes, until they are soft. Strain and put them into a food processor with a little bit of the cooking water. Add coconut oil, olive oil, grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Puree the sweet potatoes, and if needed add more of the cooking water, until you have a smooth and not too thick cream. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Step 3
Brush six individual baking dishes with a bit of coconut oil.
- Step 4
Arrange a thin and dense layer of potato slices in every dish. Sprinkle it lightly with salt, thyme leaves, and olive oil, and spread a thin layer of sweet potato cream on top. The potatoes will move a bit as you spread the cream on them—just rearrange them with your fingers. Continue until you have piled up about three layers of potatoes and three layers of sweet potato cream. The top layer can be either potatoes or sweet potato cream, whatever you choose.
- Step 5
Sprinkle the top layer with thyme leaves, and grate some brazil nuts on top.
- Step 6
Cover each dish with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
- Step 7
Remove the tin foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to form a golden crust.