This is another recipe that was originally published in my newspaper column, now shared here.   This dish of thinly sliced potatoes cooked in garlic flavoured cream is one of my favourites and goes particularly well with grilled or roasted meats. The hardest part of the recipe is slicing the raw potatoes thinly but if you have a slicing gadget like a mandolin it will take no time at all. Not only does it goes great with Sunday roast  it also goes exceedingly well with meat that is slow cooked on the barbeque.

I used an oval  earthenware dish that is approximately 32cm(12.5″)  by 20cm (82) and about 6cm deep (2″ deep).

INGREDIENTS
750g baking potatoes, peeled
250ml double cream
125ml milk
1 sprig of thyme
2 large cloves garlic
30g butter
100g grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. Slice the potatoes no thicker than 4mm and preheat oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Make it 180C if your oven is fan-assisted.
2. Grease your dish well with half the butter.
3. Combine cream, milk, thyme and remaining butter in a non-stick saucepan and simmer gently.
4. Crush garlic and add to sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent the cream from boiling over.
5. Cook slowly for about 20 minutes to allow garlic to infuse into the sauce, then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
6. Strain sauce into a clean container, making sure to press sauce through the strainer so you lose very little of the volume then season with salt and pepper.
7. Saving your best slices for the top, begin to lay potato slices in an overlapping fashion in the bottom of the oval dish. Sprinkle over a little of the cheese, then cover with another layer of potato slices. *Use all of the cheese before you get to the top layer.
8. Repeat this process, making your layers as neat and as even as possible until you used all of your potatoes (you need to leave at least 6mm-8mm to have room for the liquid).
9. Press down potato slices firmly and evenly as you can then carefully ladle the cream sauce over them.
10. Cover the top with a buttered parchment paper circle and bake on the middle shelf, placing a tray underneath to catch any drips.
11. Cook the potatoes until they are tender (about 50 minutes)then remove the paper circle and put back on the top shelf until it is golden brown. Most of the milk and cream should be absorbed into the potatoes.

CHEF’S TIP
Potato Dauphinoise stays hot for a long time so allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the dish to set and thus make it easier to serve. You can even reheat this dauphinoise in the microwave so you can prepare it the day before. Just cover the dish with clingfilm first to help keep the moisture in. Some chefs drizzle a little cream on the dish when reheating.