Richard’s Potato Gratin

Serves 6 You will need:

550ml double cream

5 cloves garlic (crush 4, use 1 clove for rubbing the base and sides of the dish)

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1kg peeled potatoes, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground coarse black pepper

25g grated Parmesan or 50g grated Gruyere

1 You will also need an 18cm x 28cm ovenproof dish. (This size dish will ensure you get a nice number of layers of potato). Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F, Gas 5.

2 Put the double cream in a medium saucepan on a low heat, and add the four crushed garlic cloves, the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer, and allow the cream to infuse while you prepare the rest.

3 Rub the remaining clove of garlic around the base and sides of the ovenproof dish.

4 Slice the potatoes thinly — ideally, they should be 3mm-4mm thick — use a mandolin to slice them, if you have one. Layer the potatoes on the base of the dish so that they are slightly overlapping, and sprinkle each layer with a little sea salt and freshly ground coarse black pepper. Repeat this process until you have used all the sliced potatoes.

5 Remove the herbs from the cream, and pour the infused cream over the potatoes.

Cover the dish with a sheet of greaseproof paper and then a sheet of tinfoil, and place the dish on a baking tray on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 60 minutes.

6 After an hour, remove the greaseproof paper and the tinfoil, and sprinkle on the grated Parmesan or grated Gruyere, whichever you are using. Return the gratin to the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown and bubbling.