Home-smoked sardines with clams, leeks, crispy cavolo nero and saffron and lemon mayonnaise

So Katie goes away for a few days with work, and in that time the kitchen somehow sprouted a makeshift smoker. And I don’t know why I haven’t done it before! 

This was a very spontaneously thought out and prepared lunch. All I knew that day was that I wanted to make something with sardines, but for the life of me I couldn’t decide on what to do with them. I had thought of curing them in blackcurrant juice, which might have looked beautiful but tasted frankly disgusting, or simply grilling them, which wouldn’t have been very original for me. It got to the point where I was cycling back from the fishmongers with a bag of fish and still didn’t know their fate. And then the idea of smoking them came into my head. 

Although I like to stretch myself and try as many different cooking techniques as I can, I have always thought that smoking was a step too far for the amateur cook. Only spending vast amounts of money on a purposely built, outdoor smoker would make this possible, and I had one scribbled down next to a sous-vide machine and double oven on my unrealistic wish list. But although cold-smokers might be a little more difficult to recreate, a makeshift hot-smoker turned out to be a doddle to make. Just make sure you open the windows and turn the extraction fan on! Anyone really interested in homemade methods such as this should check out the writing of Tim Haywood. Not only is it funny, but the things that he makes with often household items are brilliant and inspiring. 

I thought that I would be able to make a smoker out of a very deep oven tray with a cooling rack suspended above, all sealed up with trusty foil. And I was kind of amazed that it worked, and that I didn’t burn down the flat in the process! The fish really was delicious, lovely and moist in the middle and smokey on the outside. As for the flavour of the smoke, I just experimented with a mixture of thyme, pink peppercorns, rice and sugar. This might not be the right thing to use for seasoned smokers, but it worked just fine for this dish. I only wanted to lightly smoke the fish, but you could leave them in for longer to achieve a crispier, stronger result. Instead I finished the cooking with a blowtorch to crisp up the skin.  It was a treat, and could well be the start of a whole lot of experimentation. 

The rest of the dish was formed by things I was lucky enough to have at home. I had clams in the fridge for a meal the next night, and the mayonnaise was made out of store cupboard ingredients. All in all it took me about half an hour, although the kitchen was a proper mess by the end!

Serves 2 for lunch

Ingredients:

For the sardines: 

3 whole sardines, scaled and gutted

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

For the smoker:

3 large handfuls of rice

1 large bunch of thyme

2 tbsp pink peppercorns

2 tbsp caster sugar

For the clams:

30 clams, cleaned of grit

1 glass dry white wine

For the steamed leeks:

2 young leeks, washed and cut into long rounds

1 tsp butter

Salt and pepper

For the crispy cavolo nero:

3 leaves cavolo nero, shredded finely

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/4 nutmeg

1 lemon, zest only

Salt and pepper

For the saffron and lemon mayonnaise:

2 egg yolks

1/2 level tsp english mustard

1 garlic clove

Splash white wine vinegar

Small pinch saffron

300ml rapeseed oil

1-2 lemons, juice only

Salt and pepper

First get the smoker ready. Line the bottom of a deep oven tray with foil and scatter over the rice, thyme, pepper and sugar. Put a shallow bowl with a little water in at each end, and use these to support a cooling rack a couple of inches above the base. Create a lid out of a few sheets of tin foil, making sure that it will seal properly and sit a couple of inches above the cooling rack. Set aside for lighting later.

Now make the mayonnaise. Add the garlic clove, salt and pepper to a food processor with a small bowl and blitz well. Top up with the mustard, vinegar, saffron and egg yolks and mix again until well combined and very frothy. Leaving the mixer on, pour in the oil in a very slow trickle, getting steadier as you reach the end. The mayonnaise should be very thick and emulsified. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon, mix again and taste. Add more lemon and seasoning as required, then transfer to a squeezy bottle. 

Prepare the sardines by removing the head, cutting open the belly cavity and removing any innards. The next step is to butterfly the fish by carefully running the tip of a sharp knife between the fine ribcage and the flesh on each side, then slowly easing the backbone free with your fingers. Cut them at the tale end so you are left with both fillets connected and bone free. Cut into separate fillets and put onto a plate. The key with handling the sardines is to be very gentle as the skin and flesh tears really easily. 

Put the oil for the cavolo nero into a medium frying pan and set to a medium-high heat. When hot, add the shredded leaves with the lemon zest and seasoning. Cook for a minute or two, of until very crispy, then remove to a plate lined with kitchen roll. Grate over the nutmeg, mix well and check the seasoning. Set aside. 

Heat a medium saucepan to a medium-high temperature. When hot, add the clams and cook in the dry pan for a couple of seconds before adding the white wine. Cover the bubbling pan tightly and gently shake a couple of times. Cook until the clam shells open, about 2-3 minutes, then transer to a bowl. Remove the clams from the shells with a spoon, keeping about ten of the shell halves for plating up. Set aside. 

Half-fill a saucepan with a steaming attachment with salted water and bring to the boil. 

When the water is nearly boiling, start up the smoker. Run a blowtorch over thyme and rice mixture in the bottom of the oven tray until charred and smoking, then put the tray on the hob over a medium heat and seal with the foil. While the smoker is heating up, dry the outside of the sardines with kitchen paper, season well and rub with a small amount of oil. When the smoker is hot and the cooling rack is up to temperature, carefully lay each fillet skin down on the rack and quickly reseal the edges. Check after 3-4 minutes; the fish should be cooked and the skin starting to turn a golden colour. Carefully remove the fillets from the rack using a palette knife and place skin up on a plate. Using the blowtorch, run the flame over the fillets until the skin starts to crisp up. 

While the fish is smoking, steam the leeks for 3-4 minutes or until jest tender. When cooked, brush with a little butter and season. 

To plate up, position 5-6 pieces of leek onto each plate. Lay three sardine fillets per portion, and scatter some of the crispy cavolo nero around the plate. Arrange the clams over the top, leaving some of them in their shells, then dot the mayonnaise in the gaps.

Pan-fried duck breast with Pommes Anna, broccoli, braised radicchio and a pink peppercorn sauce

It feels so good to be blogging again after a couple of weeks! Sorry about the lack of recent posts, it’s been one of those months when I’ve been rushing around and just haven’t managed to make time for writing anything. Luckily I’ve still cooked a few things, and have also been to the excellent Patty and Bun for dinner, so I have a backlog of things to post about that will hopefully be completed over the next week or so. If I don’t get distracted by yet another bbq in the park again...

I’ve also been a bit undecided in my cooking, and a bit uninspired with what to cook. The worst thing about blogging is trying to think of new recipes to cook, getting enthusiastic about an idea, going out and spending lots of money on good ingredients and then when you cook it things just don’t click, or you find out the hard way that your idea wasn’t quite good enough. Luckily this doesn’t happen too often, and I’m generally happyish with the finished result. But a couple of weeks ago I had a disaster with a langoustine and john dory recipe. Everything seemed like it would be amazing in my head, but although the finished dish was tasty it just wasn’t a complete dish, and still needed a lot of work before it   could grace these pages. To make things worse, the photos of the finished ‘dish’ were pretty awful too, so a failure all round. Still, I will learn from it, but hopefully next time my mistakes won’t be so damn expensive! 

Thankfully everything came together fine on this occasion, and I actually have a finished recipe to share. This one is very safe, using tried and tested combinations that just taste good together. Duck with something sweet tasting, an irony vegetable and some garlicky potatoes is always a winner. The only things to be concerned about when cooking this are the timings. You want the duck to be a little bit pink (which in this instance mine was, just), the potatoes to the soft in the middle and the radicchio and broccoli to just have some bite. Most things can be prepared hours in advance too, so this is ideal if hosting for a number of people. 

A quick word on the Pommes Anna. To be honest I didn’t really know what these were up until a couple of months ago when I saw them on a Michel Roux Jr programme. They’re a bit like a gratin or other vegetable stack, but pretty and individual. The layers of duck fat, leek, garlic and thyme give the cooked potatoes a beautiful richness that goes perfectly with the rest of the dish. 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

1 free range duck crown, trimmings reserved for the sauce

Salt and pepper

20g butter

For the Pommes Anna:

2 large floury potatoes such as maris piper

1 leek, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

10 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

30g butter

6 tbsp duck fat

Salt and pepper

For the braised radicchio:

1 medium radicchio, heart removed and leaves sliced finely

5 slices smoked pancetta, finely chopped

8 dates, stones removed and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1 tbsp caster sugar

50g butter

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

Trimmings and bones from the duck, as many as you can get. Excess fat removed.

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 leek, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 large glass white wine

500ml chicken stock

20g butter

1 tsp pink peppercorns

Salt and pepper

For the broccoli:

4 pieces of tender-stem broccoli, trimmed

20g butter

Salt and pepper

To finish:

Baby red sorrel leaves

Turn the oven to 190ºC Fan.

First make the Pommes Anna. Heat up a medium frying pan to a moderate temperature. Melt the butter, then add the chopped leeks, garlic and thyme. Season and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until very tender. Take off the heat. Wash and peel the potatoes, then slice them vertically very thinly, so that they are almost translucent. Using a small round cutter, cut identical circles in these slices, discarding the edges or saving for bubble and squeak. Put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto a baking tray. Put one cylinder of potato on first, then spread a little duck fat on top. Spoon a little of the leek mixture on top of this and season well. Repeat this process until the stack is about 10 potato pieces high, then top with more duck fat, seasoning and a sprinkle of thyme. Repeat so that you have two stacks of potato. Spoon the rest of the duck fat around the potatoes on the baking sheet. Put in the oven for about 40 minutes, turning to temperature down to 160ºC half way through the cooking.

While the potatoes are in the oven make the sauce. Heat a large skillet to a high heat and add the olive oil. When hot, season the duck trimmings and bones and sear on all sides until very well browned. Add the leek, shallot, garlic and thyme and caramelise well. Pour in the white wine and allow to reduce by half, then add the bay leaf, stock and a little more seasoning and mix well. Reduce the liquid again until only about 175ml remains, about 25 minutes, then strain into a small saucepan. Set aside for finishing later. 

As the sauce is reducing, make the braised radicchio. Heat a large frying pan to a medium heat and add half of the butter and a splash of oil. When hot add the chopped pancetta and cook for 7-8 minutes until starting to crisp. Add the shallot, garlic, thyme and seasoning and cook for another 3-4 minutes until tender. Now add the dates and sugar and stir the mixture well. Cook for another couple of minutes then remove from the heat for finishing later. 

Cook the duck when the potatoes have about ten minutes left to cook (although the Pommes Anna can be left in a warm oven for a few minutes until ready). Dry the duck breasts well with kitchen paper then season all over. Place skin side down in a dry, cold, non-stick pan and set the heat to medium-high. Cook for 4-5 minutes on the skin side, until the fat is well rendered and crisp. At this point put the butter in the pan and turn the duck over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, touching with your finger occasionally to judge the cooking like you would a steak. Baste the top of the duck with the fat as you go. When cooked, remove to a board to rest for 5-6 minutes. 

While the duck is resting finish the other elements off at the same time. 

Drain most of the fat from the duck pan, but don’t clean, then put straight back onto a medium heat with the butter and a splash of water for the broccoli. When melted add the trimmed broccoli and seasoning and cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing occasionally. 

To finish off the radicchio, heat up the bacon and date mixture with the other half of the butter. When hot add the sliced radicchio and stir to combine well. Taste and adjust the seasonings so that the right balance of sweet and salty is achieved. 

Reheat the sauce gently and add the pink peppercorns and the butter. Stir well to combine and be careful not to boil, you just want it to come to heat.

Carve your duck into 3 diagonal slices and you are ready to plate up. 

First position the potato stack to the plate, then add three tablespoons of the radicchio mixture. Place one slice of duck on each mound. Top with the broccoli and spoon over the sauce. Finally scatter over some of the baby sorrel leaves. 

Porterhouse of Dexter beef with bearnaise sauce, Jersey Royal potatoes and greens

After cooking loads of fish recently, it is definitely time that I tackled a piece of meat. I was inspired recently by reading an excellent article by Jay Rayner about his favourite eating experiences. His choices ranged from dining at el Bulli and the St John to more personal meals such as crab on the beach and a big piece of steak at home with his wife. It was this last example that hit a chord with me, and got me thinking about the best things that I have eaten. Holidays scoffing carpaccio in tucked away Venetian restaurants and fresh seafood off a Cornish campfire sprung to mind, but certainly the best thing that I have eaten recently was chomping through a steak as big as my head at Hawksmoor in February.

So beef it was, and instead of buying a standard ribeye, I wanted to try something a little more special. One of the greatest meals that Katie and I never had was when we paced the streets of Florence a few years ago, frantically looking for somewhere decent that would offer us one of it’s famed slabs of t-bone. After hours of searching we got impatient in the humidity, and settled in a rubbish tourist restaurant for rubbery gnocchi and tough veal. I’ve been keen to settle that one ever since. Still, I was slightly hesitant about ordering a porterhouse (which has more fillet attached than a t-bone), as frankly it is an expensive piece of meat and I wanted to do it justice. I have cooked conventional steaks loads of times but my experience of cooking larger joints of meat is quite limited, so I would have to be very careful.

Cuts of meat such as t-bone, porterhouse or even bone-in ribs or sirloin are only really available from good independent butchers. I am lucky enough to have some great ones a cycle ride away, but last week I was really short on time, and there was no way that I would get the chance to visit my favourite Ginger Pig. Whilst researching cuts of meat I stumbled upon the website for the East London Steak Co, which instantly impressed with easy functionality and a great selection of produce. I would never normally order meat or fish online, as I like to see the quality before buying and I try and support local supplier as much as possible, but thought that I would give it a go. I have to say that the service and quality were excellent, and I was very happy with what I received. If I ever need meat at short notice and can’t make it to the shops then I would definitely buy from them again. 

The only surprise that occurred from ordering online was that when the meat was delivered, I discovered that the cattle breed was Dexter. Dexter cows are much smaller than average, and as a result my 1kg porterhouse was much smaller and thicker than I was expecting. I was happy with this though, as Dexter meat is considered to have great flavour and tenderness, so was excited about trying it. My only concern was that my initial cooking timings would be thrown with this much thicker piece of meat. 

After a lot of prodding and checking during the cooking process, I was extremely pleased with the results. The sirloin side was perfectly cooked for me, pink and tender all the way through without being raw. I have to say that the fillet was a little overcooked, and only slightly pink. But I’m not sure if cooking the two parts evenly is all that possible given the tiny size of the fillet, but it was still very tender and juicy. The flavour of the meat was extraordinary, and I only have the quality, aging and hanging of the meat to thank for that.

Pairing the steak with simple Jersey Royals and greens complimented the flavour of the meat perfectly, and turned it into a complete meal. Albeit a very meat heavy one. Jersey Royals and broad beans are bang in season right now and should be made the most of.

Serves 2 very hungry people

For the beef:

1 x 1kg dexter porterhouse steak

10 sprigs fresh rosemary

10 sprigs fresh thyme

5 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the bearnaise sauce:

4 egg yolks

1 small banana shallot, very finely chopped

4 tbsp tarragon, chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

250ml clarified butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

3 tbsp cold water

Salt and pepper

For the Jersey Royals:

12 small jersey royal potatoes, washed and scrubbed lightly

50g butter

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 tbsp tarragon leaves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the greens:

1 large handful broad beans, podded and shelled

250g baby spinach leaves

50g butter

2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp thyme leaves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Take the steak out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking to allow it to get to room temperature. 

Next make the bearnaise sauce. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with three quarters of the tarragon, some seasoning and the chopped shallot. Reduce by half over a low heat then take off the heat and allow to cool. If clarifying your own butter then do this at this point too and cool slightly. When the reduction is cool add the egg yolks and whisk well. Return to a very low heat and carry on whisking continuously and making sure that the mixture doesn’t get hot enough the scramble. After about 10 minutes the eggs will have emulsified with the reduction and formed a thick frothy texture. Take off the heat and very slowly add the butter, whisking still until all the butter has been incorporated into the sauce. Pass through a sieve then add the remaining tarragon and taste. Squeeze in the lemon and season if necessary. Cover and set aside.

For the Jersey Royals, put the washed potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover well with cold water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and plunge into a bowl of very cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside to finish at the end. 

Heat the oven to 200ºC.

While the oven is heating up make the flavoured butter for the greens. Mix the butter with the chopped anchovies, garlic, thyme and seasoning until fully incorporated.

When the oven is hot heat up a heavy griddle on a very high heat until smoking. Season the steak well and rub with a little oil. When the pan is really hot, put the steak fat side down in the pan to render for a minute, then sear on all sides until well coloured. Transfer to an ovenproof dish with the rosemary and thyme and put into the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 180ºC, and cook the meat for about 30-35 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the middle, which will be 58ºC for medium-rare. Take the meat out of the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes.

While the meat is resting, heat up two large saucepans to a medium heat. 

In one pan, melt the butter with a little olive oil for the potatoes. When hot, add the sliced garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the potatoes, season well and toss in the butter and garlic to cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, then finish with the tarragon leaves. 

Cook the greens in the other pan. Melt the anchovy butter and 2 tbsp of water and add the broad beans. Cook for a couple of minutes then tip in the spinach. Stir well until the leaves have just wilted, then taste and season. 

Transfer the potatoes, greens and bearnaise into serving bowls. To serve the meat, take the sirloin and fillet off the bone and slice thickly. Pour over the cooking juices, season and transfer to a board and tuck in. 

Pan roasted black bream with crab, confit fennel, asparagus, clams and sea purslane

As I wrote a couple of posts ago, I have recently been pretty obsessed with cooking fish. I tend to do this with food; I will go through stages of really concentrating on one group of ingredients, or method of cooking and will use it in lots of things that I make. Previously it has been adding breaded, deep fried things (see cod cheeks, pork cheeks and oysters in the last few months), or asparagus which I can’t get enough of at the moment. The fact that the very short British asparagus season is in full swing, and combines with fish so beautifully means that they take high priority on the menu. And simply both ingredients are delicious and I take great pleasure in eating them.

This dish came about in a bit of an accidental way. The ingredients and concept are classic enough, but the finished meal was not really what I intended when I started thinking of what to cook. For the last few weeks I have had some wacky idea in my head about curing an oily fish, initially sardine fillets, in rhubarb to create a fresh tasting, vibrantly pink element to a dish which also included some chargrilled fillets for contrast. I imagined that it would produce a lovely looking little salad, and couldn’t wait to get experimenting with it. Flaw in my plan no.1: when I enquired to my local fishmonger about sardines, I was told that they were ‘pretty scarce’ at the moment. That was the sardine thought grounded, but fair enough I would use the trusty mackerel instead. So off I went to the fishmongers on Sunday, and as my luck would further have it, a good weekend had seen them cleared right out of mackerel. Bugger. 

I’m rubbish at creating quick, inventive things to cook on the spot, so I felt really thrown at that point and a little panicked that I was just going to buy a load of random things that wouldn’t come together. This is where the joy of a local, independent fishmonger came in. After a quick chat, it was decided that black bream is really in season, and would work perfectly with the ingredients that I planned to use. They are pretty mad looking fish, with big heads and dark silvery flanks, but fillets that you get from them are amazing, very similar to seabass. Along with the clams and purslane that I also bought, to my delight I was also given a bag of freshly picked white crab meat. Menu sorted I left a happy bunny (apart from the flat tyre I got on the way home...). Thanks a lot to the excellent as always Jonathan Norris in Victoria Park village. 

This dish is pretty simple to put together, with the only time consuming thing being the fennel confit. Once this is made everything else can be prepared and cooked quickly. Cooking fish is something that takes experience, as it only takes a minute or two to overcook and ruin, but with a little practice it’s dead simple. The key is to make sure that the pan is hot before you add the fish, and that you cook it skin side down for the majority of the time.   

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the bream:

1 black bream (or gilthead will be fine), filleted and pinboned

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

For the confit fennel: 

2 bulbs fennel, finely sliced, fronds kept for garnish

600ml olive oil, or enough to just cover the fennel

2 bulbs garlic, whole

150g white crab meat

1 lemon, juice only

Salt and pepper

For the asparagus puree:

8 asparagus stalks, heads removed and kept for pickling

30g butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

Salt and pepper

For the pickled asparagus:

The heads of the 8 asparagus

200ml white wine vinegar

3 tbsp caster sugar

6 black peppercorns

For the clams:

1 small handful clams

1 glass white wine

For the samphire:

1 small handful samphire, rinsed

1 tbsp butter

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper

To finish:

1 small handful sea purslane, rinsed

Fronds from the fennel

To make the confit fennel, put the sliced fennel and whole garlic in a medium-sized saucepan and cover with the olive oil. Cover the top of the oil with a cartouche and set on a low heat for 35-45 minutes, or until very tender. Drain well, discard the garlic and set aside. 

Take the prepared bream and crab out of the fridge and allow to get to room temperature. If the fillets are big then cut into two neat pieces. 

For the puree, fill a medium saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. When boiling, add the asparagus stalks and boil for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer to a food processor with the butter, lemon and seasoning. Blitz well, then taste and adjust if needed. Set aside in a warm place.

To pickle the asparagus tips, put the sugar, white wine vinegar and peppercorns in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. When the sugar has dissolved, put the asparagus into a small bowl and cover with the pickling liquid. Set aside.

Put the cooked fennel into a saucepan and gently warm up on a medium-low heat. Season well and squeeze over the lemon juice. Keep heating through as you finish the other elements of the dish.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan to a medium-high heat and add a good glug of olive oil, 2-3 tablespoons. 

While the pan is getting hot, put another small pan on a medium heat and melt the butter for the samphire. When melted, add the rinsed samphire and seasoning and cook for a minute or two until just al dente. Squeeze over the lemon and keep warm. 

Also put a small saucepan on a medium-high heat for the clams. When hot, pour in the clams and add the white wine, which should bubble straight away. Put a lid tightly over and shake the pan a couple of times. Cook for a minute or two until the shells open. Remove the clams into a bowl, and pour the white wine liquor into the fennel saucepan along with the white crabmeat. Mix well and taste, adjusting seasoning and acidity. Cook for another minute and take off the heat. 

When the frying pan is hot, season the bream fillets all over and gently place skin side down, holding them flat to the pan with your fingers for a couple of seconds to stop them curling up. Cook for 2-3 minutes on the skin side only, and while this is happening baste the flesh side with the hot oil, running the back of the metal spool down each fillet. This will gently cook that side too without the need to flip the fish. After 3 minutes the skin should be crispy, add the butter and lemon and remove from the heat while you plate up. 

Spoon a good tablespoon of the asparagus puree onto the middle of each plate, then lay some of the confit fennel on top. Place the cooked bream onto the fennel, then place the clams, pickled asparagus, samphire, purslane and fennel fronds around the edges. Squeeze over a touch more lemon and serve.

Egg yolk and ricotta ravioli with asparagus, asparagus puree, smoked salmon and capers

Tomorrow this blog will be a year old; I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone! In that time I have made 47 posts of recipes and reviews, way more than I ever could have hoped when starting out. I’ve certainly come a long way in my cooking, and continue to learn with everything I make. By blogging I have become competitive with myself, trying to make the dish that I am cooking even better than the last. I’d never have thought that my blog would drive me to make things like ballotines and consommes, and I’m excited about what’s to come in the future. Writing about food has also been really fun, I enjoy the weekly cooking routine and I have met some wonderful like-minded people along the way. Long may it continue!

This recipe is another example of something that I would never have thought of making a year ago. I first discovered the concept of an egg yolk ravioli a while ago when it was featured on a cooking programme, potentially Masterchef from memory. It sounded great; perfectly cooked pasta with a soft filling and runny egg yolk pouring out. All of my favourite things in one go! It did look really complicated though, requiring a very delicate approach to avoid breakages. 

This proved to be the case when constructing the ravioli, but I have to admit that is was easier than I first anticipated. I found that the key is to make a little cup in the filling that will encase and protect the yolk while you seal the pasta. Timings are just the same as I would use when cooking normal ravioli. A poached egg cooks in 2 minutes, so after that time the pasta was cooked and the yolk still good and runny. A great tip with ravioli and pasta in general that I have recently learned is to use cous cous to dust the outside of the finished pasta instead of flour. Whist cooking, flour tends to form a claggy paste around the pasta whilst cous cous just drops to the bottom of the water.

The other thing that I had to think about with this dish was what to serve alongside the ravioli. I have seen it made with just a simple butter sauce in the past, but for this recipe I wanted to add a few more elements. I thought about using mushrooms, which would have been lovely, but I am aware that I have cooked with mushrooms loads recently so don’t want to be too much of a one trick pony! Instead I chose to wait until the British asparagus season was upon us and make use of the extremely short period that such an amazing ingredient is available to us. Those imported Peruvian ones available aren’t nearly as good! Asparagus is so good with boiled and poached eggs so I was sure it would be great with this. By using it simply boiled and in pureed form it makes it a bigger component of the dish and not just something stuck on the side. The other thing that I have used is smoked salmon, which adds a lovely smokey taste and rounds everything off. 

A note on the amarinth leaves. As I have said before, micro leaves should not just be used to make a plate look pretty, as every ingredient should contribute to the overall taste. In this case they add a subtle beetroot flavour with gives the recipe a nice earthiness. If you can’t find any, baby watercress would give pepperiness that would work.

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

For the pasta: 

100g strong ‘00’ flour, plus more for dusting

1 medium egg

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

150g good ricotta

1 tbsp tarragon leaves, finely chopped 

1/2 lemon, juice only

Salt and pepper

2 egg yolks, whites kept for brushing

1 tbsp cous cous

For the asparagus puree:

6 stalks asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces

1 lemon, juice only

50g butter, at room temperature and cut into small cubes

Salt and pepper

To finish: 

The tops of 4 asparagus stalks, peeled, the rest used for the puree

4 slices good smoked salmon, trimmed

1 tsp capers, rinsed

A few pinches of red amarinth leaves

First make the pasta dough by tipping the flour onto a work surface. Make a hole in the middle and crack in the egg and add the oil and salt. Using a fork mix well, incorporating the flour bit by bit. When incorporated, knead well with your hands for 5-10 minutes, or until the dough feels smooth and elastic in texture. Wrap with clingfilm and leave to rest for at least fifteen minutes, preferably longer. 

While the pasta is resting make the filling by combining the ricotta, chopped tarragon, lemon and seasoning. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, you want the seasoning to be quite high to balance with the egg yolk. Set aside. 

Put a small saucepan of seasoned water on to boil. 

To make the asparagus puree, boil the asparagus until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the water and transfer to a food processor with the seasoning and lemon juice. Blitz well, then add the butter a cube at a time. Combine again. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Set aside.

When the pasta has rested, remove it from the fridge and using a pasta machine roll it through every setting until it is the thinnest it can be. Cut the pasta sheet into two, and using a 3 1/4” pastry cutter gently mark two circles onto one of the sheets. Arrange one teaspoon of the ricotta mixture in the middle of each circle and create a deep indent that will hold the egg yolk. Very carefully separate the egg yolks, reserving the whites, and tip the yolk into the centre of each filling. Brush some of the egg white around each filling, covering an area larger than will be needed once the pasta is cut. Cut the other pasta sheet into large squares, and one at a time, very delicately position over pile mound of filling. Starting from one end, seal the pasta sheets together, pushing any air bubbles out. When fully sealed, cut around the fillings with the cutter. Dust with a small amount of the flour and move to a plate lined with baking parchment and scattered with the cous cous. Set aside white you finish the dish. 

Fill up 2 saucepans with well seasoned water and bring to the boil. 

When the water is boiling in both pans, drop the asparagus tips into one and boil for 3 minutes. After one of the minutes, put the ravioli into the other pan and cook for the remaining 2 minutes. 

While the asparagus and pasta are cooking prepare the plates. Spoon a generous amount of the puree onto each plate and position the smoked salmon opposite. Top the salmon with some capers and the amarinth leaves. Drain the cooked ravioli and the asparagus and position onto the plates. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil around and serve.