Bakers potatoes

Usually on Sunday the boys like to have a roast of some kind.  However one did ask me a little while ago about making  Dauphonoise potatoes.  Which are lovely, but seemed really rich.  I looked around in my recipe books and online and found variations of bakers potatoes or boulangere potatoes as they are sometimes known and sort of made these up with what I had on hand.  Didn't use herbs but could easily put some herbs through this if liked. I started slowly cooking 2 thinly sliced onions and 3 cloves of garlic in about 65 g butter, strange amount but was end of a pack ;o)  Slowly cooked until they were slightly coloured and meltingly soft. meanwhile I peeled and sliced in my food processor around 6 medium large potatoes.  I did this by eye to how much I thought my dish would hold.  placed a third of my potatoes in the bottom to cover and placed half of buttered and onion mix over.  Seasoned and continued finishing with the potatoes and trying to make the top a bit neater. I made up 500ml veg stock with a cube.  Chicken stock is usually used for this but as I have a vegetarian in the house we used vegetable stock. and poured this in and around potatoes carefully.  it came to just below the top layer of potatoes.

I put this in the oven for around 70-80 minutes I think it was around gas mark 3.  When tested with a knife there was still a little resistance but very almost cooked.  At this point the oven gets turned up and you can dot to top with butter. I decided there was enough butter in there and kind of used a spoon to submerge to top potatoes a little and spoon a little of the buttery juices over the top. Could be why mine looks a little singed in places ;o) I left mine on a higher heat around gas mark 6 for 25 minutes while I got on with the accompanying vegetables.

I know the pictures don't look fantastic but it was a very family friendly, crowd pleasing dish we thought,  very simple and very yummy. The stock was mostly absorbed by the potatoes but the remaining stock mixed with the butter from the onions and left a sauce like quality but not absolutely puddles of it. It's fairly rich. Filling and leaves you feeling you have indulged.  Well it did us anyway.