The weather feels a little wacky at the moment, sometimes it’s unbearably hot and other days it feels gloomy. One day I’ll have a bright, refreshing salad for dinner and then the next day I fancy bangers with mash! The perfect antidote to an Autumnal drafty evening is ofcourse heaps of steaming hot stodge. I’ve been having a lot of dauphinoise potatoes lately, mainly because I always seem to have an excess of potatoes lying around but also because it’s the perfect thing to warm me up.
My version contains spring onion which isn’t traditional, but it perfumes the cream with a little onioniness without being overpowering. I also include slivers of garlic that almost disappears into the cream as it cooks. This is a great basic recipe that you can build on with more flavours if you wanted; perhaps try infusing the cream with fragrant bay and thyme, or grate over a dusting of nutmeg for a hint of spice.
How do I slice the potatoes?
I always thought I needed a mandolin or food processor to achieve the perfectly thin slices of potatoes. But the Amazon reviews for mandolins terrified me (so many sliced fingers) and I do not have space for another kitchen appliance. My best advice is to take a large sharp chef’s knife and try your best to slice the potato into even discs. Slice them as thin as you can, but ultimately try and make sure each slice is roughly the same thickness. The main goal is to ensure that all the potato cooks at the same time. I love the homeliness of imperfect hand-cut potatoes anyway.ย
What kind of potatoes is best?
Use a starchy type of potato such as King Edward and Maris Piper. Desiree would make for an interesting gratin, with it’s red skin and yellowy flesh.ย Wash the potatoes before peeling them, so that you don’t wash away any starch as the starch helps to thicken the cream.
Side Dishes
This dish is a perfect accompaniment to roast dinners. Despite being so rich, it works well with rich meats such as duck, beef or lamb. I’ve also served it with pan-fried salmon.ย
As much as I adore roast potatoes at Christmas, dauphinoise potatoes is much easier to scale up for large crowds. To add a festive touch, fry some pancetta in a saucepan with chopped chestnuts and sprigs of thyme, and sprinkle over the gratin for the last 10 minutes of cooking.ย
Other side dish recipes:
Dauphinoise Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 large Maris Piper potatoes
- 300 ml double cream
- 25 g butter
- 1 spring onion , thinly sliced (keep the white and green parts separate)
- 1 clove of garlic , thinly sliced
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 30 g parmesan grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ยฐ/gas mark 4.
- Peel and thinly slice the potatoes.
- Put a layer of potatoes in a non-stick loaf tin. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a few slivers of garlic and the white part of the spring onion. Keep layering the potatoes, seasoning, garlic and spring onion. Finish on a layer of potato.
- Gently shake the tin side to side so that the potato slices even out. Use a fish slice to gently press the layers down so that there is minimal space between layers.
- Pour over the cream and let it drip down through the layers for a few minutes. The cream should come up to just under the top layer of potatoes. Dot the top with small slices of butter and cook in the oven for 55 mins.
- Take the tin out of the oven, dust with grated parmesan and place under the grill for 5 minutes.
- Take the tin out of the oven, garnish with the green part of the spring onion and serve.
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