By JEAN DOHERTY/LE Patio

I’m Irish, I love potatoes; the French love potatoes; let’s face, it everyone loves potatoes. This particular recipe gets its name from a time in France when wood for cooking was in short supply, so the villagers would take their meals in pots along to the local Boulanger (baker) and have him cook them in the bread oven at the same time as the bread was being baked. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s almost impossible to screw up. It’s very simple and takes less than an hour to cook. The best way to cook this dish is in a wide, shallow baking dish or a lasagna dish or a flat cake tin will even do the trick.

Ingredients:

For 6 servings

• 2 lbs peeled potatoes cut into thin slices
• 2 medium yellow sweet onions peeled and cut into thin slices
• 2 pints beef or chicken stock (prepared in advance)
• Salted butter
• Black pepper, salt and a pinch of grated nutmeg

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven at 400°F

Heat a frying pan with butter. When the butter is ‘meunière’ (has become light brown but not burned), pour the onions in and cook until golden brown. Set aside.

Then, using the same pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the spuds.

After 7 to 8 minutes, put 1/3 of them into your oven dish, add little salt and pepper, cover them with 1/2 of the onions, put 1 pinch of grated nutmeg on them, then cover with more of the potatoes, then with the remaining 1/2 of the onions … then with the rest of the potatoes. (1/2 cup truffle shavings or a few drops of truffle oil will make it completely delectable … after all you’re the chef!)

Pour in the stock gently so that it just comes to the top of the upper potato layer (not more).

Put the dish in the oven and let it bake for approximately 50 minutes (when cooked, no liquid must remain visible because it must have made a bond between potatoes and onions).

Serve yourself a glass of wine, you deserve it!

This easy recipe is very interesting because you can serve it with almost anything.