Potato roses

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the cavities of an ordinary muffin pan generously with butter. Cut 24 strips of baking paper, 1cm wide, and place two strips crossed over each other in each cavity – this will help you to lift out the cooked roses later.

2. Wash the potatoes well, but there’s no need to peel them. Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, cut a quarter of the potatoes (about 250g) across the width into very thin slices (about 1mm thick). The size of the potatoes and the thickness of the slices will determine how delicate your roses will be. Now sprinkle the slices with salt, pepper and nutmeg and lastly with some of the Parmesan. Mix well.

3. Assemble Roll the first potato slice into a thin cigar shape – this forms the inside of the rose. Now arrange petal slices around the centre to form a rosebud. Place this carefully on the baking paper cross in the muffin pan. Carefully arrange more petals around the bud until the cavity is full and you have a lovely plump flower. Make sure you pack the potato slices tightly, otherwise the flower won’t retain its shape during the cooking process. It’s also a good idea to have lots of cheese between the layers. Repeat with the rest of the sliced potatoes. Then slice the other potatoes and repeat until the pan is full – the reason you don’t slice all the potatoes at the start is that they will oxidise and discolour.

4. Now spoon a dollop of cream onto each rose. Give the cream time to seep through all the layers before adding more. If you add too much, it will boil over; if there’s too little, the potatoes will dry out. There should be space for about 2 tablespoons of cream per rose. Bake for 1 hour until the potatoes are soft and golden brown. If, after 45 minutes, you’re worried that the potatoes will brown too much, cover the pan with foil for the last 15 minutes. Cool slightly and then lift the roses out of the cavities using the baking paper crosses. Gorgeous!