Potato and Spinach Gratin

One challenge I have given myself for the second year of blogging “using less meat in my kitchen” has been working out a lot better than I thought. I felt like sometimes being  stuck in a “meat and potato rut”. But stepping out of my boundaries was not hard at all.  I don’t even need to have special ingredients on hand.

This potato and spinach gratin is another perfect example for an excellent vegetarian dinner. Precooked potatoes get layered with spinach and over baked with Gruyere. Serve it alongside a nice fresh green salad and you have a healthy and scrumptious meatless dinner solution in no time.

Serves about 6.

Ingredients:

*  1 medium onion, chopped
*  1 tablespoon olive oil
*  2 garlic gloves, chopped
*  about 1 1/2 cup milk
*  2 tablespoons butter, softened
*  2 tablespoons flour
*  2 teaspoons vegetable base (Better Than Bouillon)
*  1 lb (450 g) fresh spinach, blanched
*  8-10 medium  potatoes
*  1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
*  salt, pepper and nutmeg

Directions:

Cook the potatoes until almost done. Let them cool and peel  the skin and cut them into slices. Set aside.

Butter a 9by13 inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Brown the  onions in olive oil in a bigger pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the milk and bring to a boil. Mix the butter and flour to a paste and whisk into the milk. Make sure there are no lumps. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese and the blanched spinach. Season the mixture with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Place potato slices in the baking dish to  form a bottom layer. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top. Lay another layer of potatoes and spread the remaining spinach mixture over it. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for about 20-30 minutes.

My “Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers” Cookbook giveaway is still ongoing. Don’t forget to participate! Click here.

Tagged as: gruyere, quiche, spinach