Every holiday table needs some form of potato casserole. This one is lighter, thanks to the dairy-free cauliflower sauce in place of the usual white sauce, and yet full of flavor.
1 cup vegetable stock (substitute with chicken stock)
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (substitute with grated parmesan)
½ tablespoon lemon juice
salt
1 tablespoon Litehouse® freeze-dried chives
1 tablespoon Litehouse® freeze-dried garlic
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Prep the potatoes
Wash and peel the potatoes. Keep them immersed in water to prevent them from turning brown as you work with them.
Using a mandoline slicer (#3 thickness), slice the potatoes lengthwise into ⅛” slices. Keep the slices immersed in water.
Make the sauce
In a large heavy-bottomed skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add ½ of one onion, sliced, and sauté on medium heat with a pinch of salt until they soften. Stir ever so often to prevent burning.
Add 1 tablespoon of the Litehouse freeze-dried garlic, cauliflower florets, and paprika. Sauté until the cauliflower just begins to brown. This will bring out the flavor better.
Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and let the cauliflower cook until soft.
Remove from heat and let cool completely uncovered.
Transfer to a blender. Add nutritional yeast and lemon juice and blend until smooth.
Adjust salt to taste. Set aside.
Caramelized onions
In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the remaining 2 sliced onions and cook on medium-low heat with a pinch of salt until they soften and turn a light brown. Watch carefully so they don't burn.
Turn off heat and let cool completely. They will continue cooking and softening in the residual heat.
Assemble
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spread a thin layer of the cauliflower sauce at the bottom of the casserole dish.
Arrange a single layer of potato slices, overlapping them as you go.
Spread another layer of the cauliflower sauce.
Top with the caramelized onions. Sprinkle chives and freeze-dried garlic.
Season with salt and pepper. Then drizzle about a ½ teaspoon of olive oil.
Repeat steps 3-6 until you run out of the sauce, ending with a layer of potatoes.
Brush the potatoes generously with oil then top with the remaining caramelized onions.
Bake
Cover the casserole with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Uncover, increase the temperature to 425°F and continue baking for another 30-35 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and the sauce is thick.
Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. This will allow any extra liquid to be absorbed back into the potatoes. Serve warm.
The casserole can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.