If you want to serve a dinner party in main course with buttered carrots and asparagus alternatively, the dauphinoise potatoes topped with cheese and bacon make a meal in themselves. Here’s the recipe and procedures.

125 g/ 4 oz butter

450 g/ 1 lb Cara potatoes

sliced into thin discs

4 garlic cloves, crushed

4 pinches of freshly grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

300 ml. / ½ pint milk

4 duck breasts, about 175-200 g/ 6-7 oz each

Preheat the oven to 200″C,/400oF/Gas Mark 6. Melt the butter in a large deep saucepan over a low heat. Add the potatoes, garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Cook over a low heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the cream and milk and simmer gently for 7-8 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof dish

and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

 Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper. Place the breasts skin side down in a cold frying pan and bring up to a high heat; this will allow a lot of the fat to be

released from the skin. Turn over and cook until sealed and golden. Transfer the breasts to a baking sheet and place in the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.

 To serve, slice the duck breasts on to four dinner plates. Serve with some dauphinoise potatoes (if you like, you can use a round pastry cutter to cut off small gateaux of potato) and roasted shallots and pour the sauce over.