Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Potatoes are so ridiculous. Have you ever had a variation of potatoes that you didn't like? Because I really don't think that I have...Red-skinned, yukon, gold, purple peruvian, russet, deep-fried, baked, mashed, au gratin, scalloped, potato salad, tater tots...It just doesn't matter. I love them any style, any time.

Today's recipe is a creamy, cheesy-tasting, too-rich-to-be-vegan dish that should not be missed. Karina Allrich (the gluten-free goddess) highlights my favorite vegan "cheese" sauce to date, and I use it in dishes other than these potatoes.

Enjoy!

You'll need:
4 medium gold potatoes, scrubbed (the first time I used gold potatoes, this time I used red-skins. Both turned out awesome)
Sea salt

Boil a pot of salted water. Slice the potatoes very thin and parboil them for 5 minutes; drain.

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 tablespoons millet (or rice) flour
2 1/2 cups unsweetened plain hemp milk- I use Tempt
4 rounded tablespoons good tasting nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons sesame tahini (or almond/cashew butter)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more, to taste
A good dash or two of Simply Organic Garlic Powder, to taste
A good dash or two of Simply Organic Minced Onion, to taste
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon or honey mustard
1 tablespoon golden balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, or lemon juice- to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup white wine, to taste
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, chopped

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and stir in the millet/rice flour (I like to use a whisk to do this). Cook and stir the flour for about 30 seconds- it will make thick paste- and continue stirring to cook the raw flour taste out of it. Slowly add in the hemp milk, whisking to blend the flour paste and hemp milk. Bring the mixture to a bubble (it will thicken as it heats) then reduce the heat to low. Add the nutritional yeast, sesame tahini, sea salt, garlic and onion powder, mustard, vinegar, nutmeg, paprika or turmeric, wine; whisk to blend. Add in the chopped artichokes. Continue heating and stirring the sauce over gentle heat for about five to ten minutes till thickened. Remove from heat.

Assemble your dish: Rub a clove of raw garlic in a gratin style shallow baking dish or casserole. Layer about half of the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the dish. Pour half the sauce over this layer. Press down a bit, making sure the sauce seeps in and around all the slices. Add in the remaining potatoes and pour the rest of the sauce all over the top. Press down a bit and shimmy the edges to allow the sauce to sneak in all around the edges. (I like to add a light dusting of nutritional yeast on top to give it a crisp, cheesy finish) Cover and bake for 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Serves 4.

original recipe source: http://karinaskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/vegan-scalloped-potatoes.html