French Onion Potato Gratin





The Magick Potato

Compassion, protection, stored energy, and wishing


​Potatoes are associated with Saturn, Pluto, the moon, Virgo, and the element earth. They hold a nurturing grounded energy for stability, good health, and protection.


The potato has a fascinating history. Many people associate the Irish with the potato but potatoes are actually a New World food grown in Peru where they were cultivated as long ago as 2500 B.C. Potatoes were a staple crop of the Inca, who grew their vegetables on terraced plots cut into the steep Andean hillsides. 1


Potatoes were were introduced to Spain by Columbus in 1492. 2 However, as potatoes are a nightshade, the common people viewed them with suspicion. But as Europe’s population continued to rise, the monarchs began to see the potential of the potato as a protection against famine should a grain crop fail. The working class was slow to warm to it. It took propaganda in the form of pamphlets and recipe booklets and even a bit of reverse psychology to get the European diet to embrace it.3


1.History.com, 7 Foods Developed by Native Americans. https://www.history.com › news › native-american-foods-crops

2. Jack Staub, The Illustrated Book of Edible Plants (Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publishing, 2017).146.

3.Wolf D. Stori, The Curious History of Vegetables (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2016) 207-208.





Warm and Filling Potato Gratin

Yum! This delicious potato gratin has everything to warm and fill you on a cold day.

You will need:

1/2 lb of bacon (plant-based or not)

4 onions, sliced thin

6 sprigs of thyme

1/4 cup of water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups of beef broth

1 cup fruity red wine

3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

5 lbs potatoes, sliced thin ( I used red)

3 pieces of toast

6 ounce Gruyère grated

3 tablespoons of butter, melted

1 teaspoon thyme

In a Dutch oven, brown bacon, cooking in batches. Remove bacon as it cooks and set aside. Toss the onion slices into the pan and stir to coat. Add the water, sugar, salt, and thyme sprigs. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in broth, wine, Worcestershire, mustard, and potatoes. Then bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender and most of the broth has been absorbed. Turn oven to 400. In a bowl, add the cheese and crumble the toast over the top. Drizzle with melted butter and mix in the thyme. Spread the cheese mixture over the potatoes and put the Dutch oven into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes until brown.







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