Right now, I am really missing travel. And I am really missing travelling to Europe. The other day, I shouted in frustration, “Europe is just over there and we can’t visit!” while pointing impotently in the direction of France. And I’m really, really missing going to Paris, forever one of my favourite cities on the planet. The food is always one of the highlights for me in the French capital – especially the magnificent things even the most unassuming cafe will do with potatoes.

There is a mash I once ate with panfried calf liver back in 2011 that I still talk about – and the other pleasure I have enjoyed many a time in Paris is potatoes dauphinoise. The delicately layered, wafer-thin slices of potato, infused with a creamy sauce, just enough salt to fill the mouth without being too much – it’s wondrous.

But until Saturday night, I’d never attempted a potatoes dauphinoise myself. I had a pre-spatchcocked poussin from Sainsbury’s to bung in the oven and I figured what better accompaniment than a dauphinoise and some asparagus wrapped in bacon. I looked at a few different recipes and then created a potatoes dauphinoise that was all my own. The addition of a little parmesan wasn’t entirely authentic, but it added an extra dimension of flavour.