Entree

Cooking mackerel is a commitment. I cook them over coals using a Japanese technique, grilling with the dry heat above charcoal rather than through contact with the flame. You cook only on one side, through a wire rack. When the meat turns opaque two-thirds of the way through, with just a bit of crimson left and some caramelisation in the belly, it is ready to take off.

This eggplant is a pretty classic Middle Eastern dish, similar to a baba ganoush. The eggplant picks up and holds the flavour of the smoke, while the skin protects it. This technique ends up both smoking and steaming the eggplant.

I think it’s probably relevant to talk about the weather. Summer’s here and the sunshine is a good excuse for mussels. These mussels are in a green chilli paste that I first started using on octopus in the restaurant. I’ve adjusted the recipe, deleting some of the salt and adding mussel juice. I tend to marinate the mussels on the day, but they can be marinated overnight to take on a slightly pickled quality.

It was some of Charles Fourier’s wilder notions that created the fodder for my banquet menu. In my research I found lovely stories about old hens, his love of a funny little cake called a mirliton, and his much discussed notion to re-engineer the Earth’s climate in order to change the sea from an unpalatable brine to lemonade. And hence this appetiser or entree of cured kingfish. Salt and sugar in the cure, sprinkling a little on the fish afterwards to give a little crunch, the coldness of the fish’s flesh, the slight hint of lemon and a little garnish of mint. Pure, simple and redolent of a sea of lemonade.

What makes the live scallop quite spectacular is not just the sweetness and freshness of the flavour but also the firm texture. When we clean the scallops we release the muscle and remove the lid, leaving the muscle and entrails intact. The muscle is what we know as the scallop – the white parcel in the middle of the shell.

Quality rollmops make themselves known the instant you open the jar. The smell should be briny but not too bracing. Good delicatessens should have herrings imported directly from Scandinavia and I wouldn’t make this without a proper pickled herring.

I never tire of this recipe. I started cooking it when I started my apprenticeship. It was one of the first things I learnt to cook. This week in the restaurant we cooked the same recipe as a snack at the bar. Admittedly, the one I cooked 25 years ago used local cheddar. The one we cooked this week used 18-month-aged Gruyere de comté.

Steak tartare is a very important part of the classic French bistro. Often horse is used. Personally, I prefer the beef. I’ve eaten quite a few versions, using various cuts of meat. I’ve seen it with an aged piece of beef, but I prefer to use fresh cuts. The tenderness is not an issue because you’re dicing the meat anyway, and you add so many flavours that the ageing becomes kind of redundant.

The snack that ticks all the boxes when it comes to flavour, texture and balance.

Meet gazpacho’s slick city cousin – velvety smooth almond soup.