“This is an incredible salad with textures and flavours that keep bouncing and popping as you eat it,” says Martin Kroon, head chef at Butlers Wharf Chop House.

“I include mustardy bittercress, peppery watercress, earthy mayweed, crispy croutons and toasted walnuts, which combine with a rich, runny duck egg. Warm, caramelised Jerusalem artichoke lends another earthy flavour. Wild watercress, bittercress and scented mayweed are available in winter and spring from the Kentish forests or Forager.”

Ingredients: (serves 2)

NB: There is no precise recipe, as all measures are handfuls.

For the Jerusalem artichokes

2 handfuls of Jerusalem artichokes, in bite-sized pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
(optional) sprig of thyme

For the salad

A handful of picked watercress
A handful of bittercress
½ handful scented mayweed
A handful of toasted walnuts
A handful of croutons
A pinch of Maldon sea salt and some black pepper
A dash of toasted pumpkin seed oil
2 soft-boiled duck eggs, peeled and the tops sliced off
3 drops truffle oil, to serve

For the mustard dressing

Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp creamed horseradish
100ml olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:

Peel the artichokes and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Roast on 200ºC with some olive oil, salt and pepper until they caramelise on the outside (about 15 minutes). Alternatively, for smaller quantities, pan fry in a little oil with a crushed garlic clove and a sprig of thyme.

Martin makes his mustard dressing by mixing together the juice of one lemon, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon creamed horseradish, 100ml olive oil, salt and pepper.

Toss all the salad ingredients apart from the duck egg together and assemble like a bird’s nest, with a warm soft-boiled egg in the middle of each ‘nest’. Season. Martin’s secret ingredient is three drops of truffle oil on top of the egg (“Shh!!”).

Further information:

See Martin's menu.