Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin with Onions and Cabbage

Scalloped Potatoes, no Fingers

I’ve been wanting to make this for a while – the last time I tried I ended up nearly slicing off a finger tip using the mandoline without the finger guard, and forgot about making the recipe as I’d planned.  (I simply ended up with a thick bandage on my finger, and only cooking up whatever had already been chopped or sliced.)  Note to self:  USE the Finger Guard!!!

This version is vegetarian (no human finger bits, either!) but contains dairy.  I do like the idea of using veggie broth to keep things moist, over the heavy cream that is often used.  There’s still going to be a lot of cheesie goodness, but we can cut back a little doing it this way.

Note spiffy new paring knife. When you get new sharp things, they just want to be photographed!
PS, it hasn’t drawn blood yet.

Prep time:  40 minutes, which includes browning the onions, but you can do other prep as that occurs.
Cook time:  1 hour
Rest time: 5 minutes? 
Serves:  Would be great for a pot luck or dinner party!

* 1 tablespoon avocado oil or buttter for the onions/cabbage.
* 2 teaspoons avocado oil for the potatoes.
* 3/4 – 1 whole large yellow or white onion, sliced and quartered.
* 1/2 green cabbage, core removed and sliced into thin easily-separatible slivers.
* About 7 Yukon gold potatoes, medium to small-medium sized, buds, green bits and bad parts peeled away.  You can leave the skins on otherwise, but it’s up to you.  I leave them on.  Slice with care to 1/8th inch rounds.  The thinner the better they will cook.
* 1 and 2/3 cups grated meltable cheese, loosely packed.  Divided into 1/2, 1/2 and 2/3rds cup portions.  I am partial to combining Gureyre with Gouda.  They add some weird stuff to those pre-packed shredded cheese packages you find in the supermarket  that I’m not wanting to eat, so I’m quite copasetic with grating my own — it doesn’t really add that much time!
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.  You can add more but, well, I ran out…
* 1/2 cup boxed low sodium veggie broth (unless you have home-made handy).
* 1 teaspoon gluten free tamari (optional)
* 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (divided)
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (divided, optional).

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

Brown the onions on medium heat in a skillet with about 1.5 teaspoon oil, moving them around ever so often.  Carry on with other prep.  Onions may take about 20-25 minutes to carmelize lightly, but at the very least get them to translucent stage.  Add another 1.5 teaspoon oil, and the cabbage, and the tamari, and wilt for about five or so minutes with the onion.

In a baking dish (this is hard to clean so I used disposable – but I did wipe it down with the rest of the oil before proceeding), add about 1/3 of the onion/cabbage mixture.  Add a little of the seasonings listed above. layer out some of the potato slices, about 1/3 of them, and scatter about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over.

Repeat for a second layer.

For the third layer, repeat but before adding the cheese, gently pour the broth over the entire dish.  Then, add the cheese and top with Parmesan.

Bake in oven for about 35 minutes (check earlier since not all ovens are the same).  Test with a fork to be certain that the potatoes are done.  Crispy but not burnt on top.

Onions and Cabbage, Oh My!

I totally feel the urge to make this soon again.  And I’m definitely not a real starch-lover!  I think it’s the Yukons…

Oven-ready!

And now I am almost ready to head over to a 4th of July party, but with a quinoa salad as the above was actually made a few weeks ago.