Serves 6 – 8

There are hundreds of interpretations of this dish.

This one is a Orlando Murrin recipe from Delicious magazine. Dauphinoise translates to a “style of cooking” and doesn’t necessarily reflect any one ingredient.

I love cooking rich, baked French potatoes – stock, onions, butter, cream, milk and cheese – and serving them with roasts and casseroles, and this recipe is certainly one of my favourites.

Life is short, eat potatoes.

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove
500ml milk (or half milk, half cream)
Good pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cayenne
900g potatoes, sliced as thinly as possible (I used my brand new mandolin)
175g grated Cantal, Comte (Gruyere) or cheddar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180c.
2. Cut the garlic in half and in a baking dish (2Lt approx), rub the exposed garlic all over. After a few minutes, butter the dish well.
3. Crush the garlic and add all the ingredients (except the cheese) to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir continuously to prevent potatoes sticking, simmer for a minute or two until the liquid thickens perceptibly, and then remove from the heat.
4. Stir in the cheese, reserving a handful.
5. Pile into the baking dish pushing the potatoes into the liquid so that they do not stick out. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
6. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes until the top is dark and golden and the potatoes tender.