JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE GRATIN

Put the Jerusalem artichokes in a pan of boiling salted water and when the water starts boiling again remove immediately from the fire and drain. When cool enough to handle, peel them, rubbing the skins off with your fingers or with a small knife and cut into rounds 6mm thick

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas6; grease an oven proof dish; cover the bottom of the prepared dish with a layer of Jerusalem artichokes slices, overlapping them slightly; dot with some of the butter, sprinkle with some of the parsley and garlic and season with salt and pepper; repeat the layering until you have used up all the ingredients; pour two-thirds of the cream evenly over the surface

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the top is crusty and the cream has become custard like; remove from the oven, add the remaining cream and return to the oven; raise the oven temperature to 220C/Gas8 and continue to bake for about 15 minutes until the surface of the gratin is golden brown, crusty and sizzling; serve at once from the pan