Ingredients
- 1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes (use floury potatoes such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree)
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2.
- Slice the potatoes into thin slices, about 2mm/⅛in thick. Place the slices into a bowl as you cut them. I used a mandolin which makes this really easy
- Trim the ends off the garlic cloves but don't peel. Grate the cloves on a grater. The flesh will go through the fine holes and the skins will be left behind. Scrape the grated garlic flesh into the bowl with the potatoes.
- Season the potatoes, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour the cream over the potatoes and mix well again.
- Place the potato slices into the gratin dish. They should come to just below the top of the dish. Press the potato down with the back of a spoon or your hands so it forms a solid layer. The cream should come to just below the top layer of potato (top up with more double cream if necessary).
- Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1-1½ hours, or until the potatoes are completely tender. (If the cream looks like it's splitting, your oven is too hot, so turn it down a bit.)
- Serve the dauphinoise as a side dish to roasted meat or poultry.
Method
This is a very wintery dish in many ways - the essence of comfort food. I am not sure what provoked me to make it this particular evening - it was only family for dinner, but I had a piece of skirt that I was going to flash fry. Rather than the normal fries or wedges I felt more like something different. As it was after christmas I had a load of cream left over which was threatening to go off. So bingo - potato, cream and garlic = dauphinoise.
I haven't actually made dauphinoise that often, but i have a mandolin now so the most time consuming part of the process, thinly slicing the potatoes, was pretty much taken care of. I decided not to peel them either (makes them more healthy!) which also makes the whole process simpler. In fact, with my slicing machine I was all set in a few minutes, then 40 minutes later I had golden melting garlic gorgeousness ready for the table.
The kids loved them too, especially the Boy. They were all I hoped for and although I suspect the recipe I used was not truly authentic, it gave me everyting I wanted and more. Go for it. Rich but satisfying. This quantity serves 6 - I reduced it by 2/3 for the 4 of us and still had some left overs to go with roast chicken a couple of days later.