THIS is a lovely winter baked dish and fills the house with yummy aromas while baking.

You can make a plain dauphinoise with only potatoes or try other vegetables in place of the fennel; onion, sweet potato and squash all make great gratin dishes. We make a fennel and thyme gratin in the restaurant, which gets rave reviews.

Serves two as a main.

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward)

1 bulb fennel

Garlic

200ml cream

200ml milk

Parmesan cheese

Method:

Chop several garlic cloves finely and fry in a pan with a little butter, once translucent and starting to brown add cream and heat slowly, adding milk when simmering, then take off heat. Leave for 30 minutes to infuse.

Peel and slice potatoes into thin rounds, slice fennel bulb finely (do not wash the slices of potato as the starch will bind the dish together when it cooks).

Layer potatoes and fennel alternately in a baking dish with a pinch of salt and pepper between each layer. Finish with two layers of potatoes.

Strain the garlic cream and pour into gratin dish till potatoes are covered. Cover with foil and place in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes (adjust times depending on depth of potatoes). The foil stops it burning.

Take foil off the gratin and press down on the potatoes firmly with a fish slice (this is key to the dish binding and not becoming a collection of potato and fennel slices floating in cream !).

Put back in the oven at 160C and check every 15min, pressing down each time with the fish slice. Take out when brown on top and the cream mixture is absorbed. Add a little parmesan on top and put in the oven for a final five minutes or so.