Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good mash but sometimes you just want to zhuzh up your potato game. Let me introduce you to my one of my favourite ways to cook potatoes: potato gratin or potato au gratin which is a French method of baking your potatoes in an aromatic cream and topped with toasty cheese.

There are 2 main components to this dish: Potatoes and the cream

1. Potatoes: Russet, Maris Piper or any good starchy potato will do. To cut down on the cooking time, you will need to blanch your potatoes in boiling water and get it half cooked – the rest of the work will be in the oven.
2. Cream: honestly you can flavour your cream however you like. You can add spices to make it more interesting. Any combo that goes well with potatoes will work.

Ingredients

1kg / 2.2 pounds potatoes (roughly 4 potatoes – Russet, Maris Piper or any starchy potatoes)
300ml heavy cream
2 sprigs rosemary or thyme
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 shallot, minced
parmesan cheese
parsley for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220C/430F.
2. Wash, peel and slice your potatoes thinly, roughly 3mm or 1/8th of an inch thick. Highly recommend you to use a slicer, it’s easier and faster!
3. Bring a pot of water to boil and drop the potato slices in for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drained and set aside.
4. In a separate pot, combine the cream, garlic, rosemary/thyme, shallot with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a simmer and let it continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Scoop out the herbs and crushed garlic.
5. Start lining up your potato slices into a baking dish, in whatever pattern you prefer. Pour the hot cream over the potatoes and grate over a generous portion of cheese.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil and let the cheese get golden and toasty for roughly 5-10 more minutes. Garnish with parsley.