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Guest Post: Mini Kale Gratins

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Today’s post comes to you from The Dirty Hippie & the Bohemian Girl’s vegan blog.  Go check out their site here!
Mini Kale Gratins
Growing up, I was lucky enough to have a mom trained in French culinary arts. The food was outstanding, but that meant lots of cheese. Going vegan was saying farewell to many treasured family recipes from my mother. But over time, I have worked at adapting many of them. One was my mom’s greens & gruyere gratin. She usually made it with spinach, but we grow kale and it’s plentiful in the yard, so it’s ideal for experimenting. We love this vegan gratin with kale – it’s creamy and easy to make. Oh – and my mom has tried it. She approves of this vegan version!

kale_gratin_lr

Ingredients
4 Tbl. plus 2 Tbl. olive oil or Earth Balance, as preferred
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried marjoram
salt and pepper (to preference)
pinch nutritional yeast (optional)
2 slices whole wheat bread, processed into bread crumbs (gluten-free will work, too)
6 cups kale, washed and trimmed to small pieces or strips (about two bunches)
2 yellow onions, minced
1 tsp. white miso
2 Tlb. all-purpose flour (gluten-free will work, too)
1/2 cup plain almond milk, unsweetened
1/2 cup Silk soy creamer, plain
1 bag Daiya Mozzarella style shreds
pinch ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375. Using olive oil or Earth Balance, grease 5 ramekins and set aside.
2. Combine herbs, salt & pepper, nutritional yeast and bread crumbs in a bowl. Stir to combine.
Use remaining olive oil or Earth Balance, saute onions and kale until the onions are caramelized and the kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook over low heat about 3 to 5 more minutes until all the water is cooked from the leaves. Remove from heat and add equal amounts of kale & onion mixture to each gratin dish.
3. In a saucepan, combine additional 2 TBl. olive oil or Earth Balance with miso, flour, almond milk and soy creamer. Using a whisk, stir constantly until mixture boils. Keep whisking so it stays smooth and add in the entire bag of Daiya shreds and nutmeg. Turn off heat and stir until the Daiya is melted and silky in the sauce.
4. Top each kale gratin with equal amounts of Daiya mixture and sprinkle with the bread crumbs/herbs.
5. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Let rest for 15 minutes after removing from oven and serve just after that!
Decadent, French-style and delicious!

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A big thanks goes out to Rissa and Nathaniel for sharing this delicious recipe with all of us!  It is so fun to see how recipes that would normally contain cheese can be made vegan.  I, for one, cannot wait to try it!  Plus, I am slightly obsessed with kale right now, so these are SO perfect!

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{ 8 comments… add one }
  • Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog August 16, 2013, 8:38 am
    These sound tasty! I think the hardest part about being vegan for me would be the no cheese. Seems like you did a great job of finding an alternative though!
  • Jan @ Sprouts n Squats August 16, 2013, 8:59 am
    Looks like such a yummy recipe! Thanks for sharing :)
  • Kelly @ Hidden fruits and veggies August 16, 2013, 9:05 am
    this looks pretty amazing! And I'm totally jealous of your having a mom trained in culinary arts... my mom usually just opened a can of sometihng and threw in a can of something else with just a few special things she'd make once in a while.
  • Katherine August 16, 2013, 7:32 pm
    Those pictures are GORGEOUS! A mom trained in culinary arts is like a dream! (Sorry mom!)
  • MegBek August 19, 2013, 9:38 pm
    OMG this looks so totally delicious!!!!! YES to this!! I love kale but it has to be cooked and this sounds amazing!
  • Ashley August 20, 2013, 4:46 am
    These sound soooo good. I have a ton of kale leftover right now from another recipe and couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it. I think this may need to happen!
  • JuliusDrype June 1, 2021, 2:17 am
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