Potato gratin

Use a waxy yellow-fleshed potato, not a starchy white one: it holds its shape in cream and gives visible slices.

Slice the potatoes to a consistent 4 to 5 mm with a food processor slicing blade or a mandolin. Uneven slices are why gratins cook unevenly and fall apart.

Wash the potato slices to remove the excess starch. The modern rule says not to, so the starch binds the gratin, but the starch taste comes through too strongly; older chefs always washed them.

In a pan combine 200 ml milk, 600 ml heavy whipping cream and 200 ml creme fraiche -- one litre in total.

Season the liquid with a tablespoon of rock salt, a pinch or two of black pepper, two bruised garlic cloves and a grating of nutmeg.

Dry the drained potato slices in a tea towel and add them, pressing them under the liquid.

Bring just to the boil, then drop to low and pre-cook 15 to 20 minutes, until a slice can be pierced with a finger without forcing.

Butter the gratin dish, scatter the equivalent of two garlic cloves over the base, and season it with a hint of salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Lift the potatoes out with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid, and lay a first layer that covers the base completely with no gaps. Broken slices do not matter.

Season each layer lightly and repeat. Two or three layers maximum.

Put the remaining cream back on the stove and boil it hard for a few minutes to kill the starch taste and reduce it to a thick creamy consistency, then pour it over the potatoes.

Bake in a fan forced oven at 160 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the oven.

Rest before cutting. Cut too early and the cream has not set and the stack collapses.