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Recipe doctor: Lower-fat potato gratin retains savory taste

Lightened Yukon Gold Gratin has one-third fewer calories than the original.Photo courtesy of The Recipe Doctor (Photo courtesy of The Recipe Doctor / The Spokesman-Review)
Elaine Magee The Spokesman-Review
Lightened Yukon Gold Gratin has one-third fewer calories than the original.Photo courtesy of The Recipe Doctor (Photo courtesy of The Recipe Doctor / The Spokesman-Review)

Dear Recipe Doctor: This is the perfect time of year to enjoy a wonderful potato au gratin dish. The recipe I usually use calls for lots of butter and whipping cream. I can no longer eat this way due to some medical conditions. Do you have a lighter recipe I can make instead?

Dear Reader: I know how wonderful cream can be in these types of recipes but the nutritional price is steep. It’s not unusual for a recipe to call for 1/4 cup of liquid whipping cream per serving. That would add 205 calories and 22 grams of fat per serving all by itself. Light whipping cream is only a little better with 174 calories and 18.5 grams of fat. Half and half cream is the best of the three with 79 calories and 7 grams of fat per quarter cup.

In this recipe, however, I’m going to bring it down one more notch and use whole milk or fat-free half and half because I’m also adding two regular fat cheeses to the recipe – Gruyère and Parmesan. Instead of half a stick of butter, I’m just using a tablespoon of whipped butter to sauté the onion and leeks. The result is a super savory and tasty potato gratin with 1/3 fewer calories and 2/3 less fat and saturated fat and half the cholesterol.

Yukon Gold Gratin

Original recipe contains 375 calories, 24 grams fat, 14 grams saturated fat and 114 milligrams cholesterol per serving.

6 cups thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 potatoes)

1 tablespoon whipped butter or margarine with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup finely chopped leeks (anise or fennel can be substituted)

1 tablespoon fresh, finely chopped parsley (or 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley flakes)

1 teaspoon fresh, finely chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 teaspoon minced garlic)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (depending on your preference)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper (depending on your preference)

1 cup whole milk (fat-free half and half can also be used)

2 teaspoons flour

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 large egg (higher omega-3 if available)

3/4 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate (deep dish) or 9-by-9-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray.

Add sliced potatoes to a microwave safe dish, cover, and cook on high for 10 minutes or until potato slices are just tender.

Meanwhile, add whipped butter to nonstick medium saucepan or skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and leeks and sauté for about four minutes or until lightly golden. Turn off heat and stir in parsley, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 cup of whole milk and stir to blend.

Add flour and 1 tablespoon of milk to a 2 cup measure and stir with fork to make a paste. Stir in remaining tablespoon milk and egg and beat with fork to blend.

In large mixing bowl, add potatoes, milk and onion mixture from saucepan, flour and egg mixture, Gruyère and Parmesan cheese and stir gently. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes).

Yield: 6 servings

Nutrition per serving: 250 calories, 8 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated, 30 percent fat calories), 11 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrate, 62 milligrams cholesterol, 3.5 grams dietary fiber, 216 milligrams sodium (if 1/4 teaspoon salt is used).

Weight Watchers POINTS = 5