Summer mushrooms, broad beans, egg yolk and fenugreek

DAY 1

The day before you want to make the dish, smoke the rapeseed oil for the egg yolk jam. Cold smoke the oil in a smoker for around 4 hours over fruit wood or oak. If you don’t have a smoker, light the log in a safe outdoor area and once it is smouldering, submerge it into the oil and infuse overnight. The next day, strain through a fine sieve, discarding the wood

For the fenugreek sauce, first make a mushroom stock. Place the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Cover and infuse for a minimum of 4 hours, but ideally overnight

Next, make a fenugreek oil. In an airtight container, mix the ground fenugreek seeds and oil together and put in a warm place to infuse overnight

Alternatively, if the temperature of your oven goes as low as 45-55°C, you can warm the combined ingredients for 4 hours in the oven, or ideally overnight, then strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with a muslin cloth – or you can use a sous vide immersion circulator (or sous vide). Weigh out 400ml and set aside

For the fenugreek butter that the mushrooms will rest in after cooking, place a pan on a low heat. Once warm, scatter in the fenugreek seeds and place the butter on top. Turn the heat up to medium and allow the butter to melt and then brown

Once brown and smelling nutty, remove the pan from the heat and pour into a cold heatproof container or bowl to stop it cooking. Allow this all to sit in a warm place overnight (as described above)

DAY 2

To cook the eggs for the egg yolk jam, use a sous vide immersion circulator (or sous vide) to heat a pan of water to 64°C. Once the water reaches this temperature, cook the whole eggs in their shells for 90 minutes. If you don’t have a circulator, heat a tray of water in a low oven to create the same effect

Strain the mushroom stock well through a fine mesh sieve to remove any small particles, then weigh out 700ml and set aside

Strain the infused butter through a fine mesh sieve and store in the fridge and use when needed – the seeds can be repurposed into other dishes (such as a curry) if used straight away. This butter can then be stored in the fridge and used when needed

For the black pepper paste, place the garlic into a cold pan along with 50g of the oil. Place on a medium heat and cook until the garlic is golden and crispy

Strain the oil through a sieve set over a bowl, reserving both the oil and garlic. Add the toasted black peppercorns and salt to a blender and blend into a powder (you can use a spice grinder if you prefer)

Add the reserved garlic oil and the remaining plain oil to the blender and blend on high for 10-12 minutes until it is hot from friction. Add the crispy garlic and blend for a further 30 seconds

Add the vinegar, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge. This keeps for a very long time in the fridge

For the mushroom purée, cook the chopped mushrooms in a very hot, dry pan, until the mushrooms’ moisture has cooked off and they have toasted, stirring constantly

Add the sage and the butter and continue to cook until golden and fragrant. Strain through a sieve, reserving the butter in a jug

Place the mushrooms into a blender and blend, slowly adding butter until you have a purée consistency. Season to taste (the black pepper paste can be used here), then transfer to a container or piping bag. Place in the fridge until needed

For the butter emulsion, place the water in a pan and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, then whisk in the xanthan gum. Slowly add the butter a few cubes at a time to emulsify into the water using a whisk. Take your time and don’t rush this process. Once all of the butter is incorporated, season with the salt and vinegar. This can be made and kept at an ambient temperature just before you plan to bring the dish together, or made in advance and chilled. If the latter, reheat in a pan to serve, stirring gently

Remove the eggs from the pan and cool under running water. Peel them and discard the whites. Weigh the yolks then weigh out 15% of their weight in the smoked rapeseed oil and then calculate 1.5% the total weight of yolk and oil in salt

Blend the yolks in a blender, then add the salt and, with the motor running, slowly add the oil in a thin steady stream to emulsify. Transfer to a piping bag and chill in the fridge for up to 3 days (this is great with everything)

On the day you want to serve the dish, finish making the fenugreek sauce. Heat up the mushroom stock in a deep saucepan on a low heat until it reaches 55°C (try to keep it at this low temperature), then use a handheld blender to blend in the sunflower lecithin

Slowly add the butter a cube at a time, making sure the sauce doesn’t cool too much. After all the butter is incorporated, add the fenugreek oil in the same manner, slowly using the handheld blender to emulsify. Season with salt and vinegar (slightly over season the sauce as incorporating air later dilutes its flavour). Set aside at room temperature

Warm serving plates before cooking the mushrooms and vegetables

Reheat the fenugreek butter in a tray large enough to fit all of the mushrooms comfortably. Season the butter generously with vinegar, sea salt and some of the black pepper paste. Set aside in a warm place – the mushrooms will rest in this after cooking to soak up the juices

Light a barbecue for direct grilling and preheat a chestnut pan over the direct heat. Dress the mushrooms lightly in oil and season well with salt. Place the mushrooms in the pan and grill until charred and golden, tossing occasionally – you may need to make in batches. You can cook any large mushrooms directly on the grill, then slice and colour the cut sides

Once done, transfer the mushrooms to the tray of butter and vinegar to rest

For the broad beans, bring a small amount of the butter emulsion to the boil in a small pan, then add the beans and mix gently to coat (this is a very good way of cooking any tender delicate vegetables). Bring back to the boil very quickly, then remove from the heat and fold through the broad bean tops (or other leafy vegetables), if using. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed

Gently reheat the fenugreek sauce to around 55°C, then use a handheld blender to generate lots of foam – tilt the pan and place the tip of the blender at the shallow end, gently lifting it up and down to incorporate as much air as possible

To plate, spoon or pipe some mushroom purée on the plate. Place the mushrooms around and add the broad beans and leaves, if using. Pipe egg yolk jam around for little pockets of richness throughout the dish

You can either spoon over the foamed sauce immediately in the kitchen or serve at the table in a small warmed pan or jug