Rogan

whitecurrants, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the langoustines for 20 seconds. Remove and refresh in a bowl of iced water. When cold, remove the tails from the heads with a short twist and pull. Peel the tails carefully and set the meat to one side. Roast the heads and shells in a roasting tin in the oven for 15–20 minutes.

Warm 2 tablespoons of the sunflower oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add all the vegetables and sweat them for 5–6 minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the star anise, bay leaf and roasted langoustine shells and heads, deglaze with the alcohol and reduce until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Cover with the chicken stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 2 hours. Strain through a fine sieve into a heavy-based saucepan over a low–medium heat and reduce by half. Add the cream and lemon juice and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve and leave to one side.

While the sauce is infusing, make the sweet cicely oil. Toast the fennel seeds and star anise in a small dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes. Warm the oil in a small, heavy-based saucepan until it reaches roughly 80°C (check with a thermometer) then add the toasted spices. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 1 hour. Bring a heavy-based saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat and blanch the spinach for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, refresh in a bowl of iced water, drain and squeeze out the excess water. Blitz the cicely, blanched spinach, spices and oil in a blender until smooth. Strain the herb oil through a muslin-lined sieve and chill immediately.

To make the fennel and sweet cicely purée, stir together 250ml water and the lemon juice. Add the finely sliced fennel to the acidulated water and allow to soak for a couple of minutes, then drain and transfer the fennel to a plastic container. Cover with microwave-safe cling film and microwave on full power for 5–6 minutes. After this time check the fennel is soft; if it still has a firm texture, cook it in 1-minute blasts until the fennel is soft and tender. When cooked, squeeze off the excess liquid. Transfer the fennel to a blender along with the reduced cream and sweet cicely leaves. Blitz until smooth and pass through a fine sieve for a smoother texture. Chill to maintain the vibrant green colour. Warm slightly before serving.

Fry the leeks in a non-stick pan over a high heat in 1 tablespoon of the remaining sunflower oil for 2–3 minutes until slightly charred and crispy and season with a pinch of salt. Remove from the pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same pan and cook the langoustines over a medium heat for 30 seconds on each side.

Drizzle each plate with the sauce and green oil, then divide the leeks and langoustines among the plates with the purée. Finish with whitecurrants that have been slightly warmed in the langoustine roasting tin.

SWEET CICELY CAKE (#ulink_f8d2aa82-a273-5b6d-bc62-67e00aeb05d7)

Sweet cicely might seem an unusual ingredient for a cake, but this herb is a natural sweetener, so you don’t need sugar, and pairing it with star anise highlights its aniseed flavour. The leaves also add a wonderful colour to baking, so slice this cake in front of friends to show off the vibrant green in each piece and serve with a dollop of the creamy aniseed buttercream.

SERVES 10

Sweet cicely cake

200ml whole milk

2 medium eggs

400g runny honey

80g sweet cicely leaves

440g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground star anise or 5–6 whole star anise, ground

Star anise buttercream

80g unsalted butter, softened

135g cream cheese

2 star anise, ground

150g icing sugar, sifted

juice of ¼ lemon

Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan/Gas Mark 5 and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment.

To make the cake, blitz the milk, eggs, honey and sweet cicely leaves in a blender until the mixture is bright green and smooth. Sift the flour, baking powder and ground star anise into a bowl. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, transfer to the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the buttercream icing, cream the butter and the cream cheese together in a stand mixer until stiff, light and fluffy. Add three-quarters of the ground star anise and mix well to combine. Turn the speed down to low and gradually add the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Remove from the machine and fold the lemon juice into the mixture. Transfer to the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

Put slices of the cake on plates with star anise buttercream, sprinkled with some of the remaining ground star anise.

STRAWBERRIES WITH SWEET CICELY SYRUP AND SHEEP’S YOGHURT (#ulink_babbb464-1961-5180-8226-35a8964d5ef0)

Sweet cicely adds an aromatic natural sweetness to the syrup here, which is the perfect complement to the tart yoghurt and ripe strawberries, finished off with the tangy citrusy leaves of sheep’s sorrel. If you think you are not familiar with sheep’s sorrel, think again: it is probably best known to most people as an irritating perennial weed that appears in summer on acidic grasslands, along roadsides and even in domestic gardens. It is widespread, so the leaves can be easily foraged or even cultivated.

SERVES 4

Macerated strawberries

20 strawberries, hulled

juice and zest of ½ lemon

50g caster sugar

½ vanilla pod, split lengthways

Sweet cicely syrup

75g caster sugar

juice of ½ lemon

35g sweet cicely leaves

a pinch of xanthan gum

Sheep’s yoghurt

750g natural sheep’s yoghurt, hung in muslin over a bowl overnight to strain the whey from the curd

sheep’s sorrel, to serve

Slice the strawberries in half lengthways and put them in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest, sugar and split vanilla pod and stir gently to coat the strawberries in the mixture. Leave to macerate for 1 hour at room temperature, stirring at 10-minute intervals.

To make the sweet cicely syrup, boil the sugar, lemon juice and 150ml water in a medium, heavy-based saucepan over a high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and chill (you can do this in a freezer for quick results). Once chilled, add to a blender with the sweet cicely leaves and blitz on high speed until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve. Pour back into a clean blender, add the xanthan gum, blitz to thicken then chill again.

Put a large spoon of sheep’s yoghurt in each bowl, create a well in the top with the back of a spoon and fill with the sweet cicely syrup. Drain the macerated strawberries and arrange them around the outside. Finish with sheep’s sorrel.

SWEET CICELY ICE CREAM (#ulink_3a104047-36fc-5948-a1e5-b97888d80272)

This is a gently fragrant ice cream, infused simply with sweet cicely. The best way to retain the flavour of this herb is to keep cooking to a minimum, so here it is briefly blanched to preserve its colour, then added to the ice cream mixture at the last minute.

SERVES 4