Italian-Style Potatoes Au Gratin

When I think of potatoes au gratin, I don't think delicious potato dish. I don't remember having it too much growing up but those that I had, I remember strongly disliking. As a grown-up, I love just about anything with a potato in it. The concept of potatoes au gratin sounds pretty good...creamy, cheesy potatoes. This is my take on it, with a little Italian twist (shocking, I know). I've always loved radicchio but lately, I have been trying to find more ways in incorporate it into more dishes. So here we go, potato au gratin with radicchio.

Italian-Style Potatoes Au Gratin
(Serves 4)

4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and sliced to medium thickness (Think Ritz cracker)
About 2 Tbls EVOO
1 small onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 head of radicchio, sliced thinly
6 Tbls butter
6 Tbls flour
2-2 1/2 C milk*
About 2/3 C freshly grated parmiggiano reggiano
About 1/3 C freshly grated pecorino romano
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, add olive oil and heat over medium heat. When olive oil is hot, add onion and saute until it starts to soften. Once onions are slightly translucent, add garlic and saute 1 min. Add radicchio and season well with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until radicchio is wilted, about 3 minutes, and then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, we need to make a bechemel. Heat butter over medium heat. When butter has melted, add flour and stir to incorporate. Mixture should form sort of a paste. Slowly begins to add milk about 1/2 a cup at a time, constantly stirring/whisking so that mixture does not get lumpy. The bechemel sauce should get creamy, to the consistency that it will coat a wooden spoon. When it has reached the desired consistency, reduce heat to low and let it simmer until it tastes creamy and not like flour. Season with salt.

In a 9" x 9" brownie dish, grease bottom and sides with Pam or butter. Using half the potatoes, make a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the dish, overlapping so that the whole bottom is covered. Pour half of bechemel sauce over potatoes, spreading to cover entire dish. Sprinkle with half the parmiggiano and half the pecorino. Next, make a layer with the entire onion and radicchio mix, spreading evenly over dish. Then, using the other half of the potatoes, make another layer, again overlapping so that the whole dish is covered. Pour remaining bechemel and top with remaining cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake covered about an hour, until potatoes are fork tender. Baking time will vary depending on how thick your potatoes are. For the last few minutes of baking, remove foil and broil to slightly brown cheese on the top. Serve hot.


*I used soy-free, dairy-free unsweetened plain coconut milk because although I can tolerate cheese, I don't get along with milk and cream. Bechemel can be made successfully with milk alternatives, like soy milk but make sure that you use UNflavored...vanilla bechemel would be disgusting.