French Food Friday... Gratin Dauphinoise with Smoked Salmon

photo and recipe from here

This particular recipe proved most handy last night when all we had in the house was potatoes, smoked salmon and of course cream which French Boyfriend adores and uses when he thinks I am not looking....

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

You will need

1 clove of garlic, peeled
Butter, for greasing
4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
250g smoked salmon
2 fresh bay leaves
600ml double cream
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ gas mark 4. If using an Aga, use the bottom shelf of the roasting oven.
2. This dish is more elegant if you slice the potatoes very thinly with a mandoline, or you can use the slicing attachment on a food processor.
3. Rub a baking dish or tin with the garlic clove, and then discard the clove. Grease with butter. Arrange a layer of potato slices in the bottom of the dish, so that they resemble fish scales.
4. Salt the layer lightly. Then add a layer of smoked salmon. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes and salmon, salting lightly as you go. You shouldn’t have more than three layers altogether, as you need room at the top for the cream, so don’t overfill the dish. Just three layers also keeps the dish from being too stodgy.
5. Place the bay leaves on the top layer and season. Pour over the double cream; this should cover the potatoes and bay leaves generously.

6. Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, which will brown the top. If you stick a skewer in the potatoes, they should be soft and yielding.

...bon appetit à tous, Leeann x