Vegan Bechamelkartoffeln

When I was a child, I hated white sauce. I would dread having Macaroni Cheese, or worse yet, Cauliflower Cheese. I've gotten over my cauliflower doubts thanks to roasting it with lemon juice. Now I've come to see how delicious white sauce (aka bechamel) can be.

I stumbled across this recipe last winter while I was looking for quintessentially German recipes. Bechamelkartoffeln, steaming hot potatoes in creamy white sauce, are a perfect winter side. Add a vegan sausage and a little salad, and you've got dinner. I changed the original recipe a little to make it vegan and easier to follow if you've never made a bechamel before.

Vegan Bechamelkartoffeln

Serves 4
Lightly adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

1 kg potatoes
1 onion
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp flour
250 ml soy milk
250 ml vegetable stock 
salt, pepper and nutmeg

Method  

1. Peel and dice the potatoes. Add to salted water and boil until tender. Dice the onion.

2. Heat margarine in a pan over medium heat, and fry the onion until soft. Add the flour and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Add the soy milk slowly, whisking between additions to avoid lumps. Add the vegetable broth. 

3. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about ten minutes, stirring regularly. Add the potatoes and simmer for a few more minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Garlic Spinach

This garlic spinach is healthy and super easy to throw together. It's also delicious!

Garlic Spinach

Serves 2

Ingredients

120 g spinach (1200 ml chopped)
3 cloves of garlic

Method

1. Chop spinach and mince garlic. Heat an oiled pan over medium-high heat. Fry garlic for one minute. Add a handful of spinach and fry until wilted. Add the rest of the spinach, handful by handful. Season with salt and pepper.

Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

This lemon roasted cauliflower is for cauliflower haters. My sister and I have hated cauliflower ever since some early cauliflower cheese experiences, but even we like this. The little charred pieces are particularly delicious. It's super easy to make - just toss together three ingredients and leave it to roast in the oven.

Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp oil

Method 

1. Chop cauliflower into florets. Toss with all remaining ingredients and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 200 C for 20 minutes. Turn and roast for 10-20 minutes more until tender with browned bits.