Serves 4, easy, 4 1/2 hours minimum

Heat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius
1 casserole dish with lid, it needs to be deep enough to layer up the potatoes and lamb with the lid on
1 boned and rolled leg of lamb
8 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a food blade on the food processor)
Handful of garlic cloves, peeled and cut in two length ways
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
Large handful of fresh rosemary
Glass of white wine
Glass of water

Layer up the potatoes, garlic, onion and rosemary lightly seasoning each layer, pour in the wine and water, add the lamb on top, place on the lid and put in the oven of a minimum of 4 hours.

Gnocchi with Black Truffle and Olives (Tartafuta)

Supper for 2 or light lunch for 2. 20 minutes, Easy

500g of Gnocchi
250g of Chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
90 ml of Tartafuta
80 ml Creme Fraiche (half fat will work just as well in the recipe)
Large handful of Parsley finely chopped
2 tb olive oil (not extra virgin, this doesn't like to be heated to high temperatures)

*Using a wok for ease of frying, cook the mushrooms until they are dry, a little colour is good but don't burn them.
*Boil a pan of salted water. Add the gnocchi and they are done when they float.
*Whilst the gnocchi is cooking, add the Tartafuta to the mushrooms and heat (you'll smell toast, don't be confused by this, it's the olives). Then add the creme fraiche and 2/3rds of the parsley.
*Mix and heat gently, if there's a lot of liquid (because the mushrooms weren't cooked dry) don't worry, just let the mixture bubble away gently till reduced.
*The gnocchi should be done by now, drain and add to the Tartafuta sauce, mix, taste, adjust seasoning, taste again and plate up, add the rest of the parsley as garnish then serve.

Mushrooms are an optional ingredient, they bulk out the dish and add protein but are not necessary if you're not a fan. Toasted pine nuts would be a nice addition too if you have any to hand.

Egg royal with truffle hollandaise

Serves 2 , 15 minutes , skill level medium


2 egg yolks
75g butter
25g Black Truffle Oil
Lemon juice 1/4 lemon
4 eggs to poach
Hot smoked salmon - we recommend Salar Smokehouse and as much or as little as you like
Hot, buttered toast, sourdough works so well with this.

Whisk two yolks in a bowl and place the bowl on a damp cloth
Heat the butter till almost boiling and then dribble, very slowly, from a height into the egg bowl whisking all the time (the damp cloth stops the bowl from moving too much and the height cools the butter so it doesn't over cook the egg)
Add the truffle oil, again very slowly, whisking all the time.
Taste, add some of the lemon juice, taste, add more if needed
Season, taste and adjust if required
Put to one side and keep warm

Poach the eggs, I prefer to use a frying pan for poaching. No "swirling" required just very fresh eggs and you can use the left over lemon juice to help set the eggs rather than vinegar.

This is the order that I prefer to build the plate but to be honest, it really doesn't matter. Do it to your taste and exactly how you like it.

Toast
Salmon
Eggs
Generous helpings of hollandaise

Bresaola with Truffle Carpaccio

Quick lunch, light supper or starter, 10 minutes and easy

4 slices of Bresaola per person - best you can afford
Handful of washed and dried watercress and rocket leaves - leave in iced water for 10 mins to pep up
Sliced Parmesan cheese crumbled - use a vegetable peeler and crumble in your hands
A lemon sliced into quarters
Truffle Carpaccio
Black Truffle Oil

Lay the Bresaola out, liberally add the truffle carpaccio, the jars are packed so there's plenty to go around. From a height, to ensure an even spread, scatter the Parmesan crumbs, drizzle over the truffle oil and finally add a generous squirt of lemon juice. Don't forget to season the salad leaves, it makes all the difference.

This would be divine with beef carpaccio too.

Heat a pan up till smoking, add the filet of beef and sear on all sides. Cool and wrap tightly in cling film before putting it in the freezer for 30 minutes to make it much easier to slice the beef thinly. In this house we don't bother slicing it too thinly, just as it comes and loaded with truffle carpaccio, truffle oil, Parmesan and lemon juice is enough of a treat for us.