Soft-boiled eggs with mushrooms and a pink-geranium and ginger consommé

serves 8

for the consommé

1kg Paris brown or chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and finely chopped a little olive oil, for sautéing 50g slightly salted butter

for the geranium butter (this will make more than you need)

50g unsalted butter 50g slightly salted butter 2g pink-geranium leaf, finely chopped 5g ginger, peeled and grated for the eggs 8 eggs

for the cooked mushrooms and purée

200g white mushrooms, wiped clean 2 shallots, finely chopped olive oil, for sautéing 500g mixed wild mushrooms, wiped clean ½ garlic clove, finely chopped 1 slice peeled ginger, grated to a purée a squeeze of lemon juice 20g slightly salted butter 200ml double cream Start by preparing the consommé. Sauté the finely chopped mushrooms in olive oil until they start to colour, then add the butter and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are well cooked, almost to a pulp. Add two litres of water and cook for two hours over a low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth, discard the solids, and heat the consommé in a clean pan until

the liquid has reduced by half.

To make the geranium butter, mix both butters with the finely chopped geranium leaves and grated ginger until thoroughly combined. Set in the fridge to firm up.

Heat a large pan of water to 64C on a thermometer and place the eggs in the water. Allow to cook gently for 35 minutes, then remove. (When serving, dip the eggs back into the water at 64C for a few minutes to return them to temperature.)

Meanwhile, choose eight of the biggest and firmest white mushrooms for the garnish. Discard the stalks and slice the mushroom heads finely, with a mandolin if you have one. Lay out the slices between two sheets of wet kitchen paper and set aside.

Sauté the shallot in a little olive oil until soft and slightly caramelised. Set aside the stalks of the wild mushrooms to use for the purée. Add the heads of the wild mushrooms to the shallot along with the finely chopped half clove of garlic and half the grated ginger, and cook until the mushrooms are tender.

Chop the remaining white mushrooms and cook them in a separate pan with a knob of the geranium butter, the rest of the grated ginger and a little bit of lemon juice.

For the mushroom purée, lightly brown the wild mushroom stalks in the slightly salted butter, then add the cream and cook gently for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth.

To make the sauce, heat 200ml of the mushroom consommé, whisk in 60g of the geranium butter and season.

To plate, use a 7cm metal ring mould, layering the white mushroom slices around the inside edge. Add a spoonful of mushroom purée and a spoonful of sautéed white mushrooms. Crack an egg on top, inside the ring. Carefully remove the ring mould and arrange the sautéed wild mushrooms around the plate, with the sauce beside.