Dauphinoise Potatoes
The classic French dish of layered potato and cream and little else that is gratineed until crisp and the cream is thick and bubbling. This dauphinoise is flavoured with a tiny pinch of nutmeg and a few sprigs of thyme, but feel free to adjust the seasonings as you wish!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- A clove of garlic
- A chunk of butter
- 1 kg potatoes ideally potatoes that hold their shape when cooked, I used red-skinned potatoes
- 200 ml milk
- 500 ml cream or crème fraiche
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg or grated fresh nutmeg
- 3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves shredded
- More butter and salt to finish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/430°F.
- Slice the garlic clove in half and rub the cut side around the inside of your chosen baking dish - I used one that is 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in). Rub it all over then do it again with the butter - the butter might not stick to the dish with the garlic on first, but smear it on best you can.
- Wash the potatoes then peel them. If they are a bag of smallish potatoes, slice them lengthwise so you have as long a strips as possible. Slice each potato as thinly as possible or use a mandoline (and please use them safely, no dauphinoise is worth losing a finger over).
- Once all the potatoes are sliced, mix together the cream and milk, season with the tsp of salt, the nutmeg and thyme leaves.
- Stack the potatoes upright around the dish so that they are on their thin sides but resting against their neighbours. Squash them all in, sprinkle with some salt, then cover in the cream. It will feel like it won't all fit but it will.
- Dot the dauphinoise potatoes with a little more butter so then it turns gold on the top. Place the dish on a tray in the oven (in case of spillages) and bake for 1 hour.
- After the hour is up, remove it from the oven. It will be golden and bubbling. The cream will thicken as it cools. Serve as a side or simply eat out of the dish.