French Potato Recipes Dauphinoise

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in middle position. Spread butter across bottom and sides of a 2-quart baking dish.
• Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick. Place slices in a large bowl of cold water and drain thoroughly.
• Bring heavy cream, milk, and garlic to a simmer in a large, wide saucepan. Add potatoes, salt, and pepper and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 20 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the potatoes to prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Add remaining potatoes to baking dish and pour enough cream mixture over potatoes to just cover. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven and grate nutmeg over top just before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
• Tip 500ml double cream, 500ml milk and 3 garlic cloves into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
• Slice 8 large potatoes very finely, about 3-4mm, add them to the cream and simmer for 3 mins until just cooked.
• Gently stir to separate the potato and stop it sinking and catching on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place in a wide shallow ovenproof dish so that they are about 5cm in depth.
• Pour over the garlic infused cream (discarding the garlic) - just enough to seep through the layers and leave a little moisture on the surface.
• Scatter over 100g grated gruyère cheese, if using, then bake for 30 mins until the potatoes are soft and browned - increase the heat for 5 mins if not brown enough.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/gas mark 2.
• Take a heavy-bottomed dish or an ovenproof gratin dish (a Le Creuset is ideal - the potatoes tend not to catch), and grease it will with some of the butter.
• Layer the potato slices in the dish, slightly overlapping each other, seasoning lightly with the salt and pepper, and sprinkling a liberal amount of cheese on each layer.
• Sprinkle cheese on the top of the last layer.
• Put the double cream, garlic and sprigs of thyme in a pan and bring to them gently to the boil, then remove the thyme and pour hot cream over the potatoes.
• Dot the top of the gratin with the remaining butter and some extra cheese if you wish, and bake for about 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs, or until the potatoes are soft, and the top is crispy and golden brown.
• Serve bubbling hot as a main meal or as an accompaniment.