Step 1

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade or 180 degrees for fan forced.

Step 2

Combine the cream, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in a small saucepan and set over a medium heat.  Add a ½ Tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper.  Don’t leave cream unattended as it loves to boil over. Once your cream starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off and set aside.

Step 3

Peel and grate your potatoes and carrots.  I used a julienne grater as it looks a bit more fancy but grating is just fine. If you have a grater attachment on your food processor, this will be done in no time.

Step 4

Put your grated potato and carrot into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, boil for one minute and then strain the potato and carrot thoroughly in a colander.

Step 5

Remove the bay leaf and thyme springs from the cream mixture. Grab a large bowl and add the strained potato and carrots. Pour the cream mixture over the vegetables, sprinkle over ½ Tsp salt and stir thoroughly.

Step 6

Get a 20cm cake tin or small casserole dish and pour the mixture into the tin/dish. Squash it down so it’s nice and flat. Cover tightly with tin foil and pop in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 7

Remove tin from oven, remove foil, scatter with the grated cheese and return to oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is crispy and golden. Serve immediately.