When you think of a potato gratin, you probably think of lots of cream and cheese. Many vegetable recipes for potato gratins contain plant-based cream and a vegan cheese substitute. Personally, I don't like most types of vegan cheese at all. I also rarely use vegetable cream. This plant-based potato gratin gets its creaminess by using coconut milk. Combined with the lime, the dish gets an Asian touch.

The basis for this recipe can be found in Flavour by Ottolenghi. This recipe is a simplified version, but I added parsnips and leeks for some extra vegetables. The result is a casserole that is delicious during winter, which still has some freshness due to the lime. Eat it as is, serve it with other dishes such as pumpkin puree or pair with a salad.

This recipe is not much work and not difficult, but it does require some planning. Put a can coconut milk in the refrigerator the night before or in the morning so that the liquid and fat can separate. This will make the coconut cream float on top. Furthermore, count on starting 2 hours before you want to eat, because it needs almost 1.5 hours in the oven. Once it's in the oven you hardly need to do anything else.

Tips

• Using a food processor, slice the potatoes and parsnips into thin slices very easily
• It may seem a bit cumbersome to put the coconut milk in the refrigerator first, mixing the cream layer through the potatoes, and then topping the casserole with the rest of the milk. Yet this does work best. I tried adding the coconut milk all at once, but this still became less tasty. Perfectly edible, but less tasty.
• For a lighter version, you can also choose to add just the coconut cream and top it with 300 ml bouillon. You can use the remaining coconut milk in a smoothie