When it comes to accompaniments, there’s little more indulgent than a dish of creamy dauphinoise potatoes, and it’s easy to treat yourself when you know how.

Dauphinoise potatoes only require staple ingredients, an ovenproof dish and something delicious to serve them with.

What you’ll need

Potatoes
Butter
Onions
Double cream
Milk
An ovenproof dish

Method

The first job is to peel and thinly slice the potatoes; getting them as thin as possible will not only reduce cooking time but it will also ensure that they are nice and soft and full of flavour. Next, thinly slice your white onions and set aside.

Cover the bottom of your ovenproof dish with a layer of potato slices, and top with a layer of your sliced onions, then season with salt and pepper. Repeat this process until your dish is almost full (you can always slice more potatoes and onions if it’s looking a little shallow).

Gently pour the equal amounts of milk and cream (around 150ml of each) over the layers, but don’t submerge, and add four of five dots of butter before covering the dish with tinfoil and baking in the oven for an hour. Take the foil off and cook for a further 15–20 minutes to ensure that your potatoes are cooked through and the top is nice and crispy.

Tip: add some grated cheese before you pop back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with...

Dauphinoise potatoes are great served with a juicy steak and a fresh green salad, with chicken in breadcrumbs and some sweetcorn, or with a bean or lentil stew for a hearty vegetarian option.

Basic white sauce

A white or béchamel sauce opens the door to loads of new recipes to add to your repertoire – such as a healthier option to the dauphinoise potatoes recipe (above), as well as lasagne, fish pie, and vegetable gratin shown in this video.