A recipe gift for you on my Birthday

I do not cook. Well, almost never. I tried a goat cheese scalloped potato dish for Thanksgiving but it did not work out as well as I’d liked. I tried it again; but, I modified the recipe and the results were amazingly good. It is definitely for special occasions only because it is high in fat!

So here is my recipe version for 

Lactose free chèvre potato gratin. 

(Full dairy and a vegan (for my niece, Danielle) option also listed.)

Serves 8-12

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare casserole dish (9.5 x 14 x 2.5 inches) by coating interior with olive oil or butter.

Ingredients:

5 lb russet potatoes

1 medium to large white onion

1-2 cloves garlic (1 teaspoon)

1-2 cups of crumbled goat cheese or vegan chèvre (1 cup minimum to 2 cups maximum should work, just depends on how cheesy you want the dish. I use closer to 1 cup.)

kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste and ground nutmeg (less than 1/4 teaspoon total of the nutmeg)

2 cups lactose-free whole milk and 1 cup olive oil (OR 3 cups heavy cream for full dairy version OR 2 cups soy milk and 1 cup olive oil for vegan alternative)

Peel and slice one medium size white onion to 1/4 inch slices

Heat skillet with vegetable oil or butter to medium heat and add onion slices to caramelize.

Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic, about 1 teaspoon) and add to onions when almost done caramelization. Remove onions from heat when lightly caramelized.

Peel the russet potatoes and slice to 1/4 inch slices .

Divide potatoes in three parts and layer one portion in casserole. Sprinkle with a third of goat cheese (or vegan chèvre) spread a third of prepared onion/garlic over top of layer.

Season with sprinkled kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and very fine dust of nutmeg (I used a barely visible amount).

Repeat layers and seasoning for two more layers.

Pour two cups lactose-free milk and one cup of olive oil over ingredients. (Substitute 3 cups of heavy cream OR two cups of soy milk and one cup olive oil, if full dairy or vegan alternatives desired)

Bake for 90 minutes.

Enjoy!

If you make this, please let me know how it turned out, if you liked it and if you have any suggestions for improvement.