Vegan Dauphinoise (potato gratin)

Suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Dauphinoise Potatoes are such a great dish to serve when entertaining; a big old creamy delicious crowd pleaser. With this vegan version, rather than trying to re-create the flavour of the dairy-rich original, I wanted to put together a recipe that brought out the best of the delicious vegan ingredients. The subtle coconut flavour from the coconut cream works beautifully with the potatoes and the cashews give a great contrast of textures. 

Ingredients:

• 2kg potatoes (more or less depending on the size of your casserole dish), washed, 
• 800ml coconut cream (or 2 cans) (if you can only find coconut milk, use twice the amount and gently simmer until it has reduced by half), 
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly crushed so that they crack, 
• 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg, 
• 3 sprigs of thyme, 
• 1 bay leaf, 
• 2 tbsp roasted cashews, chopped.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 150 C
• Thinly slice the potatoes, about 4-5mm thick. This is most easily done using a mandoline but can just as well be done with a knife. Set aside.
• Add coconut cream, garlic, nutmeg, thyme, and bay leaf to a saucepan and gently simmer for 5-8 minutes or until the flavours are well incorporated. Strain out the herbs and garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Make sure to add plenty of salt because this will be the only seasoning the potatoes get.
• Rub down the bottom of the casserole dish with garlic and drizzle with olive oil.
• Start laying down the potato slices so that they overlap slightly until the bottom of the dish is covered.
• Add enough sauce to cover the potatoes. Repeat the the layering process until the casserole dish is full. The level of cream should be right up to the top of the potato layers but not submerging them.
• Sprinkle with chopped cashews and wrap tightly with foil.
• Place in the oven and let cook for 1.5 hours or until the potatoes are soft. 
• During the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking, crank the oven up to 250 (or turn the broiler onto full heat) and remove the foil cover. This will crisp up the top layer beautifully.
• Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with some additional thyme leaves or finely chopped parsley.