Bread Sauce Flavoured Potato Gratin

I love potato gratin - this is classic, but flavoured with the same ingredients as are in bread sauce. Eat with meat or fish, but also delicious on their own with lots of black pepper. Can be eaten up to two days after. Serves 6.

500ml full fat milk
500ml double cream
1 onion
2 cloves
1/2 tsp ground mace
3-4 bay leaves
1 tbsp Maldon Salt (or 1/2 tbsp of table salt)
2kg King Edward Potatoes
Butter for greasing

Preheat oven to 220

Put milk and cream into a large saucepan. Peel the onion, cut in half, then stick each half with a clove , adding them to the pan. Add the mace, bay leaves and salt to the pan, then bring to nearly boiling point. Turn off the heat and put the lid on to infuse the milk.

Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into 1 cm slices. Put them into the milk/cream mixture and bring to the boil with the lid on. It doesn't look like enough liquid for all those potatoes, but there is.

Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until tender, but not mush. About 10 mins will suffice.

Fish out the onion and bay leaves and grease a large dish with butter. Chuck in the potato mixture and cook in the oven for about 15 mins until the potato is bubbling and brown on top. Let it stand for 10 mins before serving.