Gratin Dauphinoise – Potato and Patty Pan

Like many french dishes, Gratin Dauphinoise is simple, just a few perfectly matched ingredients.

I grew some beautiful patty pan (summer squash) this year, which, like courgettes, arrive thick and fast…. and they just keep on coming🙃 . Mine are white, and creamy and mellow in flavour. There are however, all sorts of varieties of summer squash available in good vegetable stores.

I thought they’d be a delicious addition to a Potato Dauphinoise, vegan style.

And they are. I’ve made this dish 3 times already 💕💕💕

I use oat cream here (infused with onion, garlic and herbs), which is of course much lighter than its cholesterol-laden dairy counterpart, but as far as I’m concerned, this dish is all the better for that. The summer squash add a different and lovely creaminess to the dish.

It’s easy to prepare, needs to be cooked long and slow, (while keeping just an occasional eye on it), and it doesn’t re-heat particularly well. So you just have to eat it all at once …damn it 😉

Hope you enjoy 💚

POTATO AND PATTY PAN GRATIN DAUPHINOISE

for 4

Ingredients:

approx. 1kg. of reasonably waxy potatoes preferably organic
approx. 1 kg. summer squash
500ml. non-dairy cream : either soy or oat (not coconut) maybe almond?
1 small onion
4-5 garlic cloves
handful of thyme and or tarragon
salt
pepper
nutmeg
a little olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat oven to Gas Mk. 4-5 , 180-190C. (Not too hot… the gratin needs to cook slowly).
Peel and roughly chop garlic.
Peel and roughly chop onion.
Wash herbs.
In a saucepan with a lid, place the non-dairy cream, the chopped onion, chopped garlic and herb sprigs.
Place the pan on a low-medium heat.
Just before it boils, remove from heat and cover.
Set aside and leave to infuse for 15-20 ins.

Wash potatoes. Peel (optionally- I didn’t) and finely slice potatoes into rounds approx. 2ml. thick.
Slice summer squash in half and remove seeds and pith.
There is no need to peel summer squash.
Slice squash thinly into crescent shapes approx. 3-4 ml. thick.
Take a ceramic oven dish, approx: 34 x 22 cm.
Grease the dish liberally with olive oil. Take a slice of garlic and rub the garlic around the dish.
Take 1/3 of the sliced summer squash and make the first layer in the dish.
Take 1/3 of the sliced potatoes and make a second layer covering the squash.
Scatter a big pinch of salt and a few twists of coarse-ground black pepper over the potatoes.

Make a second layer of sliced squash over the potatoes.
Then a second layer of potatoes. Again sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Then add final layer of squash, followed by a final layer of potatoes. (The crispy bit :))
Scatter the top with another pinch of salt and a few more twists of pepper.
Strain the oat cream to remove the herbs and vegetables. Pour the oat cream gently into and over the gratin.
Grate approx. 1/2 tsp. fresh nutmeg over the whole dish.
Place in a pre-heated oven for 60-75 mins. until potatoes are tender (check with a sharp knife), and the top is golden and crispy round the edges.

Serve as is, with salad, or, as in this case, with lightly sautéed/steamed savoy + pinto beans…. mmm…

Enjoy