Hasselback Potato and Leek Gratin with Hazelnut Cream, Burnt Butter and Crispy Sage
This is an incredibly delicious vegan addition to your festive table. This potato and leek gratin is full of complex, comforting flavours, brightened with the addition of a hazelnut cream which is super creamy, yet light at the same time. The nuttiness of the hazelnuts makes a full-bodied, crave-worthy bechamel style sauce.
Hasselback Potato and Leek Gratin with Hazelnut Cream, Burnt Butter and Crispy Sage
Serves 6-8 as a side
150g (1 cup) hazelnuts, soaked in boiling water for 30 mins
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
3 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance brand)
3 tbsp brown rice flour
1.5 cups water
Fresh nutmeg, grated
1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped
15 sage leaves, finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, finely sliced
10 medium (about 1.75g) potatoes
sea salt and black pepper
Burnt butter and crispy sage
2 tbsp vegan butter
10 sage leaves
sea salt
Begin by making the hazelnut milk: drain the soaked hazelnuts and tip them into a high speed blender or food processor. Add the garlic and vegetable stock and blend until completely smooth.
For the hazelnut cream: In a medium pan, melt the vegan butter and then add the brown rice flour and cook for 1-2 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Next, add the hazelnut milk and water (you want the consistency of pouring cream, not thickened cream) and whisk constantly, until creamy. Stir in the grated nutmeg, rosemary and sage and then remove from heat.
To make the gratin: Preheat oven to 350F./180C. I used a 22cm x 22cm (9in x 9in) square vessel. Drizzle with some olive oil and then lay out the sliced leeks into an even layer. Drizzle the leeks with olive oil and season them with sea salt and black pepper. Add a few spoons of the hazelnut cream over the leeks and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Next, thinly slice your potatoes using a mandoline or sharp knife (a mandoline makes this job SO much easier and quicker). Pick up a handful of potatoes, organizing them into a neat stack, and lay them in the dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue placing potatoes in the dish, working around the perimeter and into the center until all the potatoes have been added. The potatoes should be very tightly packed. Pour the hazelnut cream over the potatoes, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the foil, increase the oven to 450F/230C, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the top of the potatoes are golden and crispy.
For the burnt butter and crispy sage: In a small pan over medium-high heat, melt the vegan butter and then add the sage leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns a light brown color (be careful not to let it burn) and the sage leaves darken and crisp up slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with sea salt.
To serve, spoon the burnt butter over the potatoes and scatter with crispy sage.
