FRENCH POTATO GRATIN RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. I love roast potatoes and you’ll always find them on my Christmas table. But, if you’ve got a big crowd for Christmas then this gratin is an exciting and quite luxurious way of serving potatoes. You could either make them instead of, or as well as, your roast potatoes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Butter the inside of an ovenproof dish, around 30cm x 30cm, and at least 6cm deep.
  3. Pour the milk and cream into a wide pan with the bay leaves and garlic. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the potatoes and most of the thyme leaves and stir well. Spoon into the gratin dish and shake to even everything out. Sprinkle with the Parmesan then cover with an oiled piece of foil. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a little olive oil until crispy and golden. Add the remaining thyme and stir in the chestnuts. When your gratin is ready, remove the foil and spoon the bacon and chestnut mixture over the top. Pop it back in the oven for another 10 minutes until gorgeous and crispy on top.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a saucepan, heat up the cream with the bay leaves, thyme, garlic, nutmeg and some salt and pepper.
• While the cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bay leaves and thyme. Pour the heated cream into a large bowl with the potato slices. Mix gently to coat the potatoes. Dust the Parmesan over the potatoes. Season the mix with a little bit of salt and pepper. Mix to gently incorporate. Spoon a little bit of the cream into the bottom of the casserole dish. Then spoon the potatoes in. Level out the potatoes for uniform cooking time. Pour the remaining cream at the bottom of the bowl over the top. Top with some Parmesan and fresh thyme leaves. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, but pull back one corner for the steam to escape. Bake for 40 minutes.