Every once in a while it's good to have an experience where you're reminded that going above and beyond the call of duty is unnecessary and mediocrity is the standard by which we should all live.
Okay, that's not true. I don't believe that at all. But when you put your heart and soul into something because you believe it's the right thing to do, it really sucks to have someone shat all over it.
End rant.
In my humble but correct opinion, cheesy potatoes of all varieties are the be all, end all of comfort food. Scalloped potatoes, funeral potatoes (do they make those outside of Utah?), au gratin potatoes, cheese smothered hash browns, you name it. Feeling a bit like Bubba from Forrest Gump at the moment. If there's cheese and potatoes involved, you really can't go wrong. As you can tell from my little rant, I was in need of some comfort food, but cheese is out on so many levels. I looked up several different recipes trying to find a "paleo" version and just couldn't find anything that was to my liking. I felt like I had the concept down, but based on all the comments about what did and didn't work, I prepared myself for a bit of a gamble.
Even after I had it all assembled, I put it in the oven without a great deal of confidence. I made a big salad to go with it just in case it wasn't edible. I felt defeated before I even tried it.
This just goes to show that looks can be deceiving. I was so happy with how this turned out and I wouldn't have changed a thing. It got the double seal of approval: my BF said it was yummy (not that he ever complains), and my youngest asked, "You gonna want any of this for work?" as he headed to the kitchen for more. Of course I wanted some for lunch the next day, but I wasn't going to deny him if he was still hungry. The fact that he went for more food instead of cereal or ice cream was great news in my book.
I ended up having too many potato slices so I've adjusted the recipe to account for that. If you do end up having extras, just stick them in the fridge and you can chop them up or use the slices for another recipe. It can never hurt to have chopped potatoes on hand. I used a combination of red potatoes I picked up at the farmer's market and sweet potatoes. I used a mixture as I thought all sweet potatoes would be a little overpowering, but the mix of the two turned out great. You could either do full layers of red and sweet as I did, or you could alternate them on the same layer, making a calico type effect.
There seems to be some debate about whether nutritional yeast is considered paleo. It seems like the paleo purists abhor it because it wasn't around during the paleolithic era, while others accept it as paleo because it is a complete protein, provides vitamins and other nutrients, and is good for the gut. So, you'll have to decide for yourself, but I highly recommend using it in this recipe as it adds a depth to the sauce you wouldn't otherwise get.
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
2 large red potatoes
Drizzle olive oil
1 onion (any variety), coarsely chopped
1 lb ground meat of choice (I used turkey in this case, but grass fed beef would have been amazeballs, too)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
Sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
For the sauce:
2 T. ghee (or butter)
1 T. coconut flour
1 can (14 oz) full-fat coconut milk
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp organic chicken base
Sea salt & ground black pepper to taste
1 T. nutritional yeast
Directions:
Scrub potatoes well but leave the skins on. Use a mandolin to slice potatoes into 1/8 inch slices and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle a little olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until very soft and starting to carmelize. Add ground meat and stir until broken up. Add fennel seeds, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook until meat is completely cooked through. Turn heat to the lowest setting to keep the meat warm and stir occasionally while preparing the sauce.
Melt ghee in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in coconut flour until just starting to brown (this will only take a couple of minutes). Whisk in coconut milk until smooth, then whisk in the remaining ingredients except nutritional yeast. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook a few minutes, whisking frequently, until sauce begins to thicken. Whisk in nutritional yeast and set aside.
Grease a 13x9 baking dish. Arrange potato slices in a layer (slightly overlapping is fine). Spread half of the meat mixture over the potatoes, followed by another layer of potatoes, the remaining meat, and a third layer of potatoes. Pour sauce over top, taking care to hit all the little nooks and crannies.
Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft (I suck a toothpick in the center to test). Let stand about 5 minutes. Cut into pieces and serve.
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