Forget all over potato dauphinois recipes. This is the new kid on the block - he's big, he's bold, he's hip, he's with it. Creamy yet crisp slices of potato, wine drenched onions, crispy pieces of pancetta and, to top it all off, an oozing disk of molten camembert perched on top. What's not to like?
Preheat the oven to 180°C. If you've got a mandolin, now's the time to get it out. If not, time to sharpen your knife. Peel the potatoes, keeping them in a bowl of cold water to stop them from browning.
Slice the peeled potatoes into thin slices - if you hold them up to the light, they should be thin enough that they appear slightly opaque.
Place them in a large saucepan and pour over the milk and cream and season with the salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring frequently to ensure the slices of potato don't stick to the bottom.
When they are par cooked (before they start falling apart) remove them using a slotted spoon, leaving the thickened liquid in the pan. Check the seasoning and add the black pepper.
Heat a frying pan and add the butter along with the pancetta. Fry until crisp then remove and set aside before adding the sliced onion. Cook over a low heat until completely softened and a light caramel brown, roughly 20 minutes.
Add the riesling to deglaze and allow everything to reduce until the wine has almost completely evaporated. Add the pancetta back in.
Grease a deep baking dish and add a layer of cooked potato slices. Top these with the wine + onion + bacon mixture. On top of this add a row of potato slices on their sides (like a hasselbacked dish). Repeat until the dish is filled, then pour over the thickened creamy potato cooking liquid.
Cover with foil then bake for around 40 mins, then remove the foil to allow the potatoes to get some colour for 20 mins. Place the camembert on top and return to the oven for a final 20 minutes.
Serve hot sprinkled with chives with a sharply dressed green salad.
