Oh Kale Yeah! A Twist on Potato Gratin

In order to rate the success of this dish, I will say this: René asked for seconds. And this was filled with kale. And he asked for seconds. So what are you waiting for!? I must warn you, this is not a 2-step crock-pot meal, it takes quite a bit of time as it involves caramelising, a few pots and baking time. But if you are up for it on a slow Sunday, thank me later! I was inspired by Bon Appétit's Turnip and Kale Gratin Recipe and I changed a few ingredients and steps to my liking! Also, please don't forget that this can be made entirely dairy-free if you are cooking for someone who wants that cheesy taste but not the horrible night- seriously, everyone should taste this one way or another! Now, I must've taken about thirty photos so let's let them speak today.

You will need,

Garlic (5 cloves, minced)

Milk (2 cups, and this is replacing cream so add 1 tbsp of butter to the mix!)

Dried oregano (1 tbsp)

Butter (2 tbsp)

Yellow onions (3, thinly sliced)

Kale (3 bunches, only the leaves, thinly sliced)

Zucchini (1, cut to tiny bits!)

Potatoes (3, thinly sliced- make them look like chips!)

Eggs (3, whisked)

Mozzarella (1 cup, shredded)

Parmesan (1 cup)

Parsley (1 bunch, roughly chopped)

Bread (of your choice, 2 slices cut in small squares)

Kosher salt + Pepper

Sea salt to sprinkle before cooking

Sides suggestions: butter-basted mushrooms and oven-roasted carrots sprinkled with parsley

A few (lengthy but simple) steps,

1. Bring garlic, milk, and oregano to a bare simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let mixture simmer for 30 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

2. Use this time to heat 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium-low. Add the onions with a dash of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until they are caramelised- typically takes 40-60 minutes (a trick I learned on Bon Appétit is to splash water on the onions if they start sticking to the pan, which allows them to keep cooking without burning). Set aside and let cool.

3. Then, in a separate skillet, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of butter and cook the kale while adding salt and stirring for max 10 minutes (you will see when they are wilted and ready- if you did not slice the kale thinly enough, you may need to add the leaves in batches as it cooks, but I personally just throw everything at once). At this point, you can set this skillet aside and add the prepared onions to it, as well as the zucchini bits (they are so thin and small that I don't bother cooking them, they will bake and become crispy when the entire dish is in the oven!) .

4. Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk eggs, cheese, Parmesan, and cooled cream mixture in a large bowl to combine. Add onion mixture and bread (I forgot and added it after, it ended up perfectly fine regardless); season with salt and pepper.

5. Transfer to a 13x9" baking dish in batches: add a layer of thin potatoes each time (first the kale mix, then a potato row, I had 2 layers of each in total).

6. Press down on mixture with your hands to form a tight, even layer (you can stick the breadcrumbs then if you forgot like me!). Bake gratin, uncovered, until well browned, 40–50 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes and sprinkle with black pepper and salt before serving. Again, mine stayed a tad longer because Ella and I were reading Charlotte's Web- again, no stress as it turned out great!

Now, enjoy the cripsy, healthy-ish (it's kale, just repeat that to yourself) warmth of this dish!