Scalloped potatoes, potato gratin, dauphinoise…all of these dishes get me swooning with delight at the sheer comfort of them. This recipe is great to make for a crowd as it can be made ahead of time and re-heated and I always make sure there’s enough for leftovers.

Serves 4 -6

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 clove of garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons butter

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tablespoon fine chopped fresh rosemary

1kg NZ potatoes, washed and thinly sliced (I use a food processor)

¼ cup cream

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a pan and cook the onions and garlic until soft and translucent but not coloured. Stir through the mustard and add the rosemary.

3. Generously butter a ceramic oven dish (approx. 20cm x 30cm) with the remaining butter. Layer half the potatoes in the dish, then add the cooked onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Finish with the remaining potatoes, then pour in the cream and stock, which should bring the liquid level up to about ¾ of the potatoes in the dish, but this will depend on what size dish you’ve used. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil for the remaining 10 minutes of cooking so that the top turns golden.

4. Leave to sit for 10 minutes before serving so that you can extract nice neat squares.