I always grin when I remember this potato side-dish. When I’m a little bored of jackets, chips or mash, this heart-warming bowl of crisp and moist does it for me every time. The trick is, as with many of these dishes, awesome stock. I’ve recently seen James Martin do a cracking version of this, placing a roast chicken on a rack above the potatoes, dripping hot chicken grease over the potatoes… next time for sure!

(Allegedly, the name comes from provincial French towns, where the baker had the only oven in town. Once the morning’s bread was done, the villagers would trot up to use the leftover heat. Though why this is the only dish bearing the ‘baker’ name I don’t know…)

Potatoes boulangere:

2 baking potatoes, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon dried sage or small handful chopped fresh sage

2 bay leaves

Enough chicken stock to cover

Pre-heat an oven to 180°C. Grease a shallow baking dish and place bay leaves on the bottom. Layer potatoes on top thinly. Add a layer of onion and season generously.

Top with sage then repeat potatoes, onion and seasoning. When full, pour over stock – just enough to cover. Put in the oven.

After half an hour, the stock should have thickened slightly and reduced a bit. Brush the exposed potato slices with melted butter and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.