Potato-'Gorgonzola' Gratin

This recipe would have been difficult to make even in the recent past, but since my discovery of Sunergia's Soy Blue cheese, any recipe that calls for a blue cheese variety - such as Gorgonzola - is suddenly made possible again. FYI, I love Soy Blue so much that I will literally eat it by the forkful by itself - consider it my vegan guilty pleasure.

Start this recipe by melting 1 tablespoon of vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 tsp. flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. (I accidentally added about 1/4 tsp. flour too much, but it didn't seem to make a difference).

Stir in 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, then slowly add 1 and 1/4 cups plain soy milk (such as Silk), still stirring with a whisk. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for about 3 minutes, still stirring constantly. (My second mea culpa of the night was adding the soy milk first, then the thyme, not the other way around - oops!)

Add 1 and 1/2 ounces (about 6 tablespoons) of crumbled Soy Blue in place of Gorgonzola. Cook for a final 3 minutes, still stirring constantly; the mixture should be slightly thick by the end.

Add 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. black pepper, then remove from heat and set aside.

Peel 1 and 1/2 pounds baking potato, and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange one-quarter of your potato slices on the bottom of the pan, and cover with 1/3 of the sauce (about 6 tablespoons). Repeat the layers twice - one-quarter of the potatoes, 1/3 of the sauce, one-quarter of the potatoes, 1/3 of the sauce. Layer the final quarter of potatoes on top, and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of grated vegan Parmesan, such as the Parmesan sprinkles from Galaxy Foods.

Cover the dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 40 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before dividing into 4 equal portions of about 1 cup and 260 calories each. Although originally recommended as a side dish, I think this gratin can easily be the centerpiece of the meal, alongside a tossed salad and some veggies.

This recipe is easy to double; just bake it in a 13x9-inch dish instead.

Cost:
plain soy milk $2.49
soy blue cheese $4.49
baking potato $2.41