TTK Morel Burger

Wash the lemongrass and roughly chop using a serrated knife. Place the lemongrass, dashi, sake, mirin and fish sauce into a pot and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to a low simmer and allow to slowly reduce to 500ml.

Strain through muslin and, while still hot, add the teabag and allow to steep for eight minutes.

Remove the teabag, then cool the liquid in the fridge.

Place the cooled liquid into a blender with the 250g petits pois and blend for one minute on high speed. Strain through muslin into a pot.

Before service, add the lemon verbena vinegar, lemon geranium vinegar and lemon juice, beginning with a tablespoon of each. Taste and add more if needed.

Finish with the lemon balm, mint, 50g shelled petit pois and edamame beans.

Clean the scallops well, removing the membranes and any sand or grit.

Cold smoke for two hours (see p. 480).

Slice each scallop at an angle into six sashimi slices.

Add all the ingredients, except the canola oil, to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix using the dough hook attachment. The mixture will look dry at first but allow the mixer to continue turning and working for approximately 20 minutes or until the dough forms into a ball.

Place the dough into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm area (32 to 35°C) for 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Knock back the dough by kneading out the air. This will result in a more even texture once baked.

Line a 30cm x 9cm loaf tin with parchment paper and add the dough. Cover with a clean, damp cloth and leave to prove for another 45 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180°C.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then turn up the heat to 200°C and bake for a further eight minutes. Now, carefully remove the bread from the tin and place into the oven for two more minutes to colour it further.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, freeze the bread – this will prevent it from crumbling when slicing.

Once frozen, heat the oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Thinly slice the bread (1mm) on a slicer and lay the slices on the lined tray. Drizzle lightly with canola oil and bake for about five minutes until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before blitzing to a fine crumb in a blender.

Melt the butter in a pan and sweat the shallots, garlic and thyme.

Place the morels into a pot with the sherry, bring to the boil and then remove from the heat, allowing to steep until cooled. Strain through muslin, reserving the sherry, and rinse the morels under running water. Blend the morels in a blender until well broken up, then add to the onion base in the pan.

Return the pan to the heat and mix well before deglazing with the morel sherry. Reduce to a glaze, then add the cream and cook until reduced and thickened.

Remove 30ml of the morel mixture and cool very slightly in a bowl before tempering the egg yolk in it. Once combined, return to the pan and mix well.

Weigh out the mixture into 10g balls and place onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Shape into miniature burger patties and store in the fridge.

Have three separate bowls ready at service: one with the flour, one with the whisked egg and another with the mushroom dashi crumb. Roll each patty in flour, dusting off any excess, then dip into the egg and finally coat in the crumb.

Place the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the yeast.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and eggs, then add to the dry ingredients. Beat with the dough hook attachment for two minutes.

Add the butter, one cube at a time, beating the dough for about 15 minutes or until it reaches the windowpane stage.

Place the dough into a bowl greased with a tiny bit of olive oil, cover with clingfilm and allow to prove in a warm place (around 25°C) for approximately one hour or until doubled in size.

Portion the dough into 5g balls and place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with clingfilm or a dish cloth and allow to prove in a warm place for another 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 160°C. Whisk the egg yolk and cream to make an egg wash. Using a fine brush, brush the brioche buns with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sesame seeds before baking for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Heat the oils in a pot and caramelise the shallot, garlic, thyme and coriander seeds. When the oil is a nice golden colour, strain it and set aside.

Bring the sherries, sherry vinegar and morels to the boil in a separate pot. Remove from the heat and allow to steep and cool. Once cooled, strain through muslin, returning the morel sherry to the pot.

Rinse the morels under cold running water and then slice into thin rounds.

Add the reserved oil to the morel sherry, followed by the sliced morels, and simmer over very low heat until the morels are tender. Leave the morels in the liquid until service.

Bring the hanepoot, wine vinegar and water to the boil in a pot, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Blend with the curly-leaf parsley in a blender for one minute or until green in colour. Strain through muslin.

Slice the cucamelons and cucumber into thin rounds. Place into a shallow bowl and cover with parsley pickling liquid. Place the bowl, uncovered, into a vacuum sealer and run the machine three times to compress the cucumbers.

Pick the flat-leaf parsley off the stalks, reserving the leaves for garnish. Finely chop the stalks and place into a shallow bowl. Cover with parsley pickling liquid and compress as above. Leave in the liquid until service.

Thinly slice the Swiss raclette and portion into 3cm squares.

Wash the courgette flowers, remove their bases and separate the petals. Place onto a plate and cover with a damp dish cloth.

Set a deep-fryer to 160°C. Slice the lemon verbena leaves along the midrib and fry until crisp. Drain on paper towel.

Fry the crumbed morel patties in a pan over high heat for 90 seconds or until golden brown and crisp on the outside. Meanwhile, slice the brioche buns in half and toast, cut-side down, in a separate pan. Place a patty onto the bottom half of a brioche bun and top with a slice of Swiss raclette. Using a blowtorch, melt the cheese over the patty. Place a slice of compressed pickled cucumber on the cheese, followed by half a teaspoon of pickled parsley stalks and a flat-leaf parsley leaf. Cover with the top of the bun and secure with a mini skewer.

Lay three slices of scallop in the centre of a bowl. Top with two tablespoons of pea emulsion, evenly distributing the petits pois, edamame and herbs over the scallop. Drizzle over some olive oil to split the pea emulsion.

Garnish with three slices of morel.

Place two courgette flower petals on the dish, crossing them over one another, and finish with three pieces of fried lemon verbena.

Serve the burger on the side.