Dijon Au Gratin Potatoes (Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegan )

Traditional Chinese Medicinal Properties: Tonifies Spleen, Stomach and Pancreas. All the deliciousness of creamy, cheesy potatoes, with none of the dampness.

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour (sauce and baking) Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp dairy-free butter to grease bottom and sides of a 9"x13" casserole dish or a deeper 9”x 9” casserole dish
• 6 cups par-cooked red potatoes, sliced 1/2” thick
• 4 tbsp dairy-free butter ( I like Earth Balance)
• 4 tbsp flour
• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk (you can use any dairy-free milk of your choice)
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp Power Pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or Bragg's Aminos)
• 1 tsp Apple cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Honey (or vegan liquid sweetener like agave or maple syrup)

1. Peel and slice potatoes to measure 6 cups. (Approx 4 large, red potatoes)
2. Melt the dairy-free butter, on low-medium heat, in a saucepan that holds at least four cups.
3. Add the flour slowly and stir for a few minutes. Keep stirring so that it is all blended well and there are no lumps. (A rubber scraper is much easier to use than a wooden spoon.)
4. Pour in the dairy free milk a little at first, a little more each pour, stirring the sauce into smoothness between each pour. It will become clumpy at the start but keep stirring, the clumps will go away.
5. Bring to a low boil stirring often.
6. Add the Dijon, Worcestershire, and vinegar, and honey. To make it vegan, use Bragg's Aminos and any liquid vegan sweetener)
7. After the sauce comes to a bubble again, turn down the heat to low and cook until it is smooth and thickens a bit. About 10 minutes. Add sea salt, Power Pepper and stir.
8. Lay the potatoes in the casserole dish overlapping like shingles so the sauce can flow down into the nooks and crannies.
9. Pour the sauce all over the top.
10. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and sprinkle the fresh parsley on top.
12. Let stand and thicken for 10 minutes.

Potatoes are such a great side dish. From one method to another they are comfort-food crowd pleasers. And comfort food can be good for you while still giving you that nice, fuzzy feeling. This recipe will show you how.

Filled with potatoes and lots of creamy sauce, it is also dairy-free which will give you lots of comfort later on too. This recipe great for supporting the tone and balance of the spleen, pancreas, and intestines. The high potassium content is good, especially for those who consume too much sodium. And the fact that it is dairy-free allows you to enjoy the creamy texture without the internal dampness created by milk and butter.

Potatoes come in many colors and sizes. Some are better for boiling, some are better for baking. I used large, red potatoes for this dish. They are a versatile potato that is more waxy and than starchy and they hold up really well in lot of sauce. I also par-cook the potatoes ahead of time by boiling them for 10-15 minutes, or pressure steam in an instant pot for 10 minutes, until they are almost cooked all the way through. (Check by cutting one in half, the raw bit should be smaller around than a quarter.)

I like to get about twice as many potatoes as I need for this recipe and par-cook them all. That way I have potatoes ready to dice for breakfast or wedge for baking and aside from saving a lot of time when I cook later, it gives the final products a perfectly cooked creaminess while letting the outside get crispy.Par-cooking the potatoes for this recipe saves 30-45 minutes of ‘oven time’ even when you factor in the time spent par-cooking.

When make this sauce we start with a roux. If you haven't made a roux before, don’t worry it’s pretty simple and learning to do so will help you make all sorts of delicious things. A roux is the base of many sauces and it starts with an equal volume of fat and flour. In our case, it’s dairy-free butter and brown rice flour.

You can buy gluten-free flour mixes and they will work great for this recipe but they are comparatively expensive and often contain a thickener like guar gum or something similar. I use brown rice flour because it is fairly inexpensive, it’s got one ingredient, and it’s finely ground so it works really well in sauces and gravies. This is one of my favorites recipes, I love to make way too much and eat it for days.

Enjoy! -Chef Kelly