With the weather turning a ‘little’ warmer and summer just round the corner, Mickael Weiss, the head chef at Coq d’Argent has created some delightful recipes.

Asparagus with quail egg and sauce vierge

Peeled and blanched asparagus topped with a fried quail egg and vierge sauce.

Sauce vierge:

10g basil
10g flat leaf parsley
10g chives
10g coriander
Juice of 2 lemons
400ml olive oil
200ml vegetable oil
5g fennel seeds
1 sprig of thyme
1 garlic clove
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 tomatoes blanched and cut in 5mm dice
100ml white wine vinegar

Method:

  1. Toast the spices, then pour the oils and heat up gently to about 75/80 C.
  2. Leave at that temperature for ½ hour then add the vinegar, lemon juice and seaon with salt and pepper.
  3. Pass through a fine sieve leave to cool completely and add the freshly chopped herbs and the diced tomatoes.

Mushroom parfait

Parfait:

1kg mushrooms
1 garlic
2 confit shallots
250ml double cream
10ml white wine
1tsp ascorbic acid
500g butter
Salt
White pepper
3tbsp truffle oil
14g Agar-Agar or 8 gelatine leaves

Red port jelly:

1 litre of red port
1 litre red wine
100g of sugar
6g Agar-Agar or 7 gelatine leaves

Breadcrumb base:

750g of bread crumbs
50g of basil
50g flat parsley
1 cooked garlic clove
Salt
White pepper
250g Butter melted

Method:

Parfait

  1. Melt slowly 150g butter with the garlic and shallots after a couple of minutes add the mushroom and seasoning.
  2. Cook at low heat turning the mushrooms around to extract all the liquid for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the white wine bring to a simmer for 2 minutes then add the cream and simmer for a further 4 minutes.
  4. Add the Agar-Agar or gelatine and remove from the heat, leave to cool for 10 minutes then place in the liquidizer at high speed and add the ascorbic acid then incorporate the rest of butter and more seasoning if needed.
  5. Pour in terrine, place cling film on top to avoid a crust and leave to set.

Red port Jelly

  1. Reduce the port and wine with the sugar by ½ to obtain 1 litre of liquid, while still hot add the agar-agar and remove from heat once melted in.
  2. Once parfait set then brush 2 layers of port jelly on top. About 2mm thick no more.

Breadcrumb base

Mix in the robot coupe : Japanese breadcrumb, fresh basil, parsley, cooked garlic. Then add the liquid butter.

Coq d’Argent is at Coq d’Argent, 1 Poultry, London, EC2R 8EJ www.coqdargent.co.uk

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