Meatless Mondays: Artichoke & Potato au Gratin

Too busy eating to take picture of delicious layers inside!

By Anna Fischer Wulff
This is not your run of the mill potato au gratin.  The addition of artichoke hearts raises the bar a bit, making it a favorite dish for my family's dinner.  Plus, since I'm vegan and my niece and nephew can't eat soy or wheat yet, it's also dairy, soy, and gluten free.  Don't worry. All these ingredients can be found at your local (large) grocery chain, or you can always make it with dairy products and flour :o).


Dairy-, Soy- and Gluten-Free Potato au Gratin

• 2 cans artichoke hearts in water, rinsed and cut into 1/4" slices
• 6 red potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Cayenne
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 tbls. vegetable oil spread (I love Earth Balance.)
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2 tsp. chopped garlic
• 1 c. grated cheddar rice "cheese" (or 1/4 c. nutritional yeast flakes)
• 2 tbls. arrowroot starch (or 1 tbls. regular flour)
• 2/3 c. almond or rice milk
• 1 c. crushed gluten free pretzels or crackers
• 2 tbls. chopped parsley
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  Place the artichokes and potatoes in a mixing bowl and season with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss to coat.
  Butter the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish. Put half of the artichoke-potato mixture in the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the chopped onions, 1 teaspoon of the chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup of the "cheese" (or 1/8 cup of nutritional yeast flakes) and the arrowroot starch. Top this with the remaining artichoke-potato mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup onions, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 cup "cheese" (or 1/8 cup of nutritional yeast flakes). Pour the almond or rice milk over the mixture.
  In a bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil with the pretzel crumbs, parsley and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper (or whatever you have on hand). Spread this topping evenly over the mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
  Serves 4-6