Cook The Perfect... Potato Dauphinoise with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

As part of his drive to get us to cook without meat in his new book 'River Cottage Veg Every Day!', Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall came on to Woman's Hour to share his recipe for Potato Dauphinoise.

Listen to the interview and view the recipe below.

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Tips and techniques

1. Use half potato and half celeriac to add a new dimension to the dish.
2. You can use half cream and half milk for a healthier version.
3. Press the potatoes down frequently as it cooks to make sure you get a good glaze as the cream bubbles up.
4. You don't need to parboil the potatoes - you don't get the right texture if you do. They need to cook for a long time instead.
5. Whatever your oven says, leave your dauphinoise in until it's brown and crispy, turning up the temperature if necessary.

Recipe

Serves 6.

1. 30g butter
2. 1 kg floury potatoes
3. 400ml double cream
4. 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
5. ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160℃/Gas Mark 3. Rub a gratin dish liberally with the butter.

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly, either with a sharp knife or a mandoline. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, garlic and nutmeg and season well with salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes in the creamy mixture, then layer them in the gratin dish, spreading them as flat and evenly as you can. Pour over any remaining cream.

Bake for 1¼ -1½ hours, pressing down with a spatula every 15 minutes or so to compress the potatoes and stop them drying out. The gratin is ready when the top is golden and bubbling and the potatoes are tender. You may want to turn the oven up to 190-200℃ (Gas Mark 5 or 6) for the last 5 minutes to achieve a bit of extra bubbling crispness.

Leave to stand for 5 minutes or so before serving.

Celeriac and potato dauphinoise

A wonderful combination. Replace a quarter to half of the potatoes with celeriac, peeled and finely sliced. It's very good with about 30g grated Parmesan or gruyère sprinkled on top before baking, as above.

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