Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes were a staple of wintry weekend family dinners growing up. I can still clearly picture my mother arranging potato and onion slices in concentric circles in one of our red Le Creuset pots – adding knobs of butter, a little milk, salt & pepper until it reached the rim. It's a therapeutic dish to make, requiring very little effort – just a little cosmetic attention before transferring to the oven to become tender, creamy & golden. With more vegan creams on the market - we can make a diary-free version too!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg potatoes (I used Georgia potatoes from Woolworths), thinly sliced
• vegan butter
• 250g vegan cream (eg. Flora or Alpro)
• 1/2 cup (125ml) unsweetened soy/oat milk
• 1 tsp vegan chicken stock powder
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 twigs rosemary, fronds removed (dried works great too)

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.
2. Generously grease a 24cm/9.5 inches round (or similar) baking dish with vegan butter.
3. In a pitcher, combine the vegan cream, soy/oat milk, stock powder, pinch of nutmeg and a very generous pinch of salt.
4. Arrange a layer of potatoes in concentric circles in the base of the dish then cover in a light drizzle of the cream mixture. Repeat until you've used up all the potato slices & cream mixture - adding a sprinkling of rosemary fronds and a few knobs of vegan butter to every third layer or so. Press down the layers to compact them as well - they will compact further in the oven. Finish with more vegan butter knobs, rosemary fronds and another pinch of salt.
5. Cut out a circular piece of baking paper to cover the top of the dish, press into the butter knobs (so it stays on) and bake on a baking tray in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. After which, carefully remove the baking paper and return to the top shelf for another 15 minutes - or until golden. Leave to sit for 15 minutes before slicing/scooping & serving.