Today’s post comes to you from The Dirty Hippie & the Bohemian Girl’s vegan blog. Go check out their site here!
Mini Kale Gratins
Growing up, I was lucky enough to have a mom trained in French culinary arts. The food was outstanding, but that meant lots of cheese. Going vegan was saying farewell to many treasured family recipes from my mother. But over time, I have worked at adapting many of them. One was my mom’s greens & gruyere gratin. She usually made it with spinach, but we grow kale and it’s plentiful in the yard, so it’s ideal for experimenting. We love this vegan gratin with kale – it’s creamy and easy to make. Oh – and my mom has tried it. She approves of this vegan version!
Ingredients
4 Tbl. plus 2 Tbl. olive oil or Earth Balance, as preferred
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried marjoram
salt and pepper (to preference)
pinch nutritional yeast (optional)
2 slices whole wheat bread, processed into bread crumbs (gluten-free will work, too)
6 cups kale, washed and trimmed to small pieces or strips (about two bunches)
2 yellow onions, minced
1 tsp. white miso
2 Tlb. all-purpose flour (gluten-free will work, too)
1/2 cup plain almond milk, unsweetened
1/2 cup Silk soy creamer, plain
1 bag Daiya Mozzarella style shreds
pinch ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375. Using olive oil or Earth Balance, grease 5 ramekins and set aside.
2. Combine herbs, salt & pepper, nutritional yeast and bread crumbs in a bowl. Stir to combine.
Use remaining olive oil or Earth Balance, saute onions and kale until the onions are caramelized and the kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook over low heat about 3 to 5 more minutes until all the water is cooked from the leaves. Remove from heat and add equal amounts of kale & onion mixture to each gratin dish.
3. In a saucepan, combine additional 2 TBl. olive oil or Earth Balance with miso, flour, almond milk and soy creamer. Using a whisk, stir constantly until mixture boils. Keep whisking so it stays smooth and add in the entire bag of Daiya shreds and nutmeg. Turn off heat and stir until the Daiya is melted and silky in the sauce.
4. Top each kale gratin with equal amounts of Daiya mixture and sprinkle with the bread crumbs/herbs.
5. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Let rest for 15 minutes after removing from oven and serve just after that!
Decadent, French-style and delicious!
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A big thanks goes out to Rissa and Nathaniel for sharing this delicious recipe with all of us! It is so fun to see how recipes that would normally contain cheese can be made vegan. I, for one, cannot wait to try it! Plus, I am slightly obsessed with kale right now, so these are SO perfect!
