A Long and Messy Business. Rowley Leigh

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      SEA KALE WITH POACHED EGGS AND TRUFFLES

      The eggs can be poached in advance. The truffles should

      be shaved with a bespoke truffle slicer but a very sharp

      Japanese mandoline will work very well. Slicing with a knife

      is not really an option.

      Serves six.

      12 fresh eggs

      1 tablespoon white wine

      vinegar

      2 bunches of sea kale

      60ml (2fl oz) new season’s

      olive oil

      30–60g (1–21⁄4oz) fresh truffle

      1 tablespoon chopped chives

      sea salt flakes and black

      pepper

      To poach the eggs, fill a medium saucepan three-quarters

      full of water and bring to the boil with the wine vinegar.

      Have a large bowl of iced water nearby.

      Break each egg into a cup. Slip an egg gently into the

      area where the water is boiling most vigorously. It will sink

      to the bottom, the water will come off the boil and return

      to it as the egg rises back to the top, the white enclosing

      the yolk in a round ball. If it fails to enclose it properly,

      you may need to add more vinegar. Each time an egg rises

      towards the surface, slip another into the just-boiling water

      and repeat the process. Once 6 eggs are happily poaching

      away, turn the heat down to the merest simmer for a few

      moments. Lift out the first eggs with a slotted spoon as

      soon as the white feels properly set and the yolk

      underneath is still soft and yielding to the touch, then

      transfer them to the iced water. Repeat with the remaining

      6 eggs. Once chilled, lift the eggs out of the water, trim

      away any lacy frills of egg white and dry on kitchen paper.

      Place a rack in a deep baking tray and half fill the tray

      with water. Place the sea kale on the rack, cover the tray

      with another tray of the same size (or use foil), then steam

      the sea kale on the hob for 3 minutes until just tender but

      still with a little bite. Transfer the sea kale to a serving dish

      and sit the eggs on the steamer rack to reheat.

      Place the eggs on top of the sea kale and season both

      with lightly crushed sea salt flakes and freshly ground

      black pepper. Trickle olive oil over both, then cover

      lavishly with the thinnest-possible shavings of truffle.

      Sprinkle with chives then serve absolutely immediately.

      WINE: Truffles do not always enhance wine and truffly

      sauces can also overwhelm a wine’s fruit. I do not often

      recommend champagne with food but this is undoubtedly

      the moment for that rich cuvée of Blanc de Blancs that you

      have been wondering when to drink.

      26

      Storecupboard Favourites

      Pennette with Ceps, Cabbage and Pancetta

      Dried mushrooms are no substitute for fresh, but they

      are a great product in their own right. Fresh ceps and

      morels in particular are totally different from their dried

      counterparts. They both have soft, unctuous textures, a

      sort of squelchy fleshiness that those who like mushrooms

      love and others – especially most young people, in my

      experience – recoil from in horror. In addition, both

      mushrooms release their distinctive flavours quite slowly

      and with a degree of subtlety.

      A dried mushroom is quite the reverse. The texture,

      even СКАЧАТЬ