The All in One Ultimate Restaurant List: Medlar's signature recipe

Joe Mercer Nairne shares his recipe for duck egg tart with red wine sauce and sautéed duck heart

Despite only opening in 2012 Medlar isn’t short of awards. In its debut year chef and co-owner Joe Mercer Nairne was named Young Chef of the Year by Tatler magazine, it has three AA Rosettes and of course a coveted Michelin star, awarded in 2013. The food is inspired by French cooking with a focus on hearty rather than over-elaborate dishes. This recipe for duck egg tart is their signature starter and is always on the menu.

Duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons, young sorrel and sautéed duck heart

For the rough puff pastry:
250g butter
250g flour
125g water
2.5g salt

Finely dice the butter, keeping it cold. In a large bowl work the diced butter into the flour/salt with your fingers until it is almost at the breadcrumb stage, but still keeping a few lumps of butter there. Add the water and bring the pastry together. Form into a block and refrigerate for an hour. Roll the pastry out until it’s the thickness of a one pound coin, we use a pasta machine set to 5. Cook the sheets of puff pastry between two heavy metal trays lined with greaseproof paper at 160C for 20 mins, or until golden brown. Use a large round cutter to cut discs of the pastry out.


For the red wine sauce:
1 ½ bottles red wine
1/2 bottle port
1/2 bottle madeira
2l veal stock
Salt
Shallots, bay leaf, thyme, garlic

Sweat the sliced shallots briefly in a little vegetable oil. Add to this the red wine and reduce to a syrup. Then add the port and madeira and reduce by 2/3. Add the veal stock and herbs and cook on the stove gently for 3 hours. Add salt to taste.


For the turnip purée:
1kg turnip
50g butter
50ml water
250ml double cream
Salt

Peel and dice the turnip. Place the turnip in a pan with the butter and water. Cook with a lid on a low heat until soft. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and using a high speed blender, blend until smooth. Season to taste.


To assemble the dish:
Sautée a duck heart, keeping it very pink. Put to one side. Cook some mushrooms, any firm variety will do, and some bacon lardons. Cook a small amount of spinach and keep warm. Warm some turnip puree.

Warm some red wine sauce and place into it the mushrooms, lardons and duck heart, cut in half.
Gently fry a duck egg using a little vegetable oil. Cut out the egg using the same cutter used to cut the pastry.

Place the spinach in the centre of a plate. Place the disc of puff pastry on top. Spread some turnip puree onto the pastry and place three small spoonfuls around it. Place the fried duck egg on top. Place the red wine sauce with the sautéed duck heart, mushrooms and lardons around the egg. Garnish with the sorrel.

This article is connected to Medlar
Published Jul 8, 2014