Charred PSB, duck fat mayo & Jerusalem artichoke crisps
This dish is a great way to use up a seasonal glut of PSB. These delicious broccoli spears take on a great taste with a bit of char, which is further enhanced by the smoked paprika. The duck fat mayo and choke crisps offer some added texture and another layer of flavour. If you haven't tried duck fat mayo yet, then I suggest you should. Duck fat, usually discarded or used to cook potatoes around this time of year, transforms the traditional mayonnaise with its subtle gamey taste.
If you're scared of making a mayo from scratch, or are stuck for time, try adding a table spoon or two of warm duck fat to a quarter cup of shop bought mayo. Add some lemon juice and salt to season, whilst you're at it.
Recipe and photo by Alex Parker @alex_cooking (MasterChef ‘17)
Duck fat mayo
- 2 egg yolks (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup of sunflower oil
- 5 tbsp of duck fat (warmed slightly until liquid)
- Add the yolks to a heat proof bowl. Add in the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, mustard and salt.
- Place over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk slowly for 2 mins to bring up to temperature. Never stop whisking, or the egg will scramble.
- Once the mixture has warmed, remove from saucepan and slowly drizzle in the oil at the edge of the egg mixture, continually whisking.
- Once fully combined, slowly drizzle in the duck fat. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if required.
Jerusalem artichoke crisps
- Handful of chokes
- Sunflower oil, for frying
- Slice the chokes thinly so that they're translucent - don't bother with peeling them.
- Heat 2 inches of oil to 160 degrees (don't go above this or the chokes will burn).
- Add in the choke slices, two tablespoons at a time, and fry until light golden. They might spit, so leave plenty of head room in the pan for the oil to bubble up.
- Season after frying, and store in an airtight container. Any that aren't used in this dish will be great over something like smoked salmon on toast.
PSB
- Prep stems by trimming off the woody ends - you might also like to half the largest stems lengthwise so that the whole batch cooks evenly.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then blanch the stems for 3 - 4 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water.
- Arrange the stems (without crowding) on a baking tray, toss in a glug of oil and season liberally.
- Grill under a hot grill for around 90 seconds, before giving them a shake and repeating. The florets should have taken on a lovely char.
To plate
Arrange the PSB on a plate, dollop over the duck fat mayo and sprinkle over the crisps. Dust over some smoked paprika to finish.
If plating up over heated plates, try to dollop the mayo directly over the PSB, as it might split on the hot plate.
