Steamed asparagus with jamón and crispy fried egg

Trim the woody ends of 16 green and 4 purple asparagus, then steam the green spears for three to four minutes, until tender to the tip of a knife and the purple for just 1 min.

Meanwhile, put 75 ml olive oil in a nonstick pan on a medium-high heat, until it starts to shimmer. Add 2 free range eggs and fry until the whites are bubbly and crisp at the edges but the yolks are still runny. Remove with a spatula and pat their bottoms dry on a sheet of kitchen roll.

Arrange the asparagus on two warmed plates, top each portion with an egg and 3 slices of Serano jamón, then drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and scatter with flaky sea salt and black pepper. 

Brush thick slices of Turkish bread with olive oil and panfry in a hot griddle pan.

Sprinkle over some chives , decorate with the purple petals of a chives flower and serve as a lovely starter or light lunch.

(Here José Pizarro's original recipe)

PS In the end I decided to panfry some more Serano slices and the crispness added extra flavour (not on the photo)

Smoked duck breast, marinated white cabbage and a curry sauce

Start early to have time to marinate and cool the cabbage.

Bring 1/2 l water to the boil, with 1 dl white wine, 1/4 l rice vinegar, 1,5 tbsp caster sugar, 1 star anise, 1 cove and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer for 5 mins.

In the meantime grate 100g white cabbage and put in a bowl, pour over the hot marinade, cover with clingfilm and cool for at least 1 hour

Cut the green from 3 spring onions (keep the rest in the fridge for later use).

Stack the green leaves and slice into very thin long strips, put in ice water and keep in the fridge, where they should curl nicely.

Mix 2 tbsp mayo, 1/2 tbsp yoghurt, a pinch of curcuma, a pinch of curry, finish with lime juice.

Start plating with circles of sliced smoked duck breast (ca 15 slices pp)

Sieve the cabbage, remove the star anise and the cove, drain well.

Drain the spring onion curls and mix with the cabbage, drip with sesame oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp black sesame seeds. Mix well

Put some cole slaw in the center of the duck

Finish with the curry sauce

(Here a video with the original recipe in Flemish)

Poached lobster with cauliflower and butter sauce

Defrost a frozen lobster.

Put a big pan of water on to blanch the lobster, 1 min per 30g weight. Then rinse under cold water to stop the boiling process.

Remove the tail meat from the shell and place in the fridge. Take the claws out of the water and remove the meat from the shell

In another pan sweat a large onion, 4 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic, 3 celery sticks and a leek in olive oil until soft. Add 2 tbsp tomato purée and cook a little longer.

Crush the lobster bones. Add the lobster shells to the veggies and cook until the protein has started to set

Add 5 tbsp brandy and reduce. Add just enough water to cover the bones and add 6 sprigs of thyme. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon and cook for 3 minutes

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand for a couple of minutes. Then pass through a fine sieve into a small pan, bring back to the boil and put to one side

For the sauce take 200ml of lobster stock and add 20g of butter

Reduce this very quickly until it starts to thicken, then whisk in 2 tablespoons of cream. Put to one side

For the caramalised cauliflower, take 1/2 large cauliflower and section it up into florets. Cut the florets into 2-3mm thick slices

Select all the well-shaped pieces for the caramelised cauliflower, reserving the less attractive pieces for the purée

Blanch the slices of cauliflower in boiling water until half cooked. Refresh in iced water and drain. To serve, caramelise in 50g butter

For the cauliflower purée, finely chop all the cauliflower trimmings and place into a pan. Add a little salt and enough water to just cover

Boil very quickly until nearly all of the water has gone and add 25 ml double cream. Boil for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken slightly. It will burn easily so you need to keep it moving around the pan

Purée in a liquidiser and pass through a fine sieve

To serve, place the caramalised cauliflower in a round on the bottom of a plate. Place the purée in the centre with the poached lobster meat on top.

Pour the butter sauce over this and serve immediately

(Click here for William Drabble's original recipe, with fresh lobsters)

Red onion tarte tartin with goat's cheese and smoked beef

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Peel 2 red onions and halve them horizontally, then cut of the ends to finish with 2 cm high parts.

Bring a splash of water to the boil with 20g caster sugar and caramelise, as soon as the caramel is golden brown add some more water to stop the process, then add 20g butter.

Once the combination is nicely bubbling ad the onions and stew for a couple of minutes.

Butter some ramequins, add a bottom of caramel, them put in the onions, broad side down.

Use a serving ring to cut out 2 discs of puffed pastry, slightly bigger then the ramequins. Brush them with egg yolk and put over the onions, push down the ends into the caramel.

Make a hole in the center and bake in the hot oven for 30 mins.

Mix 50g fresh goat's cheese with a splash of double cream, add a tsp of finely sliced thyme and basil leaves. Add 1/2 tbsp runny honey and a splash of lemon juice. Tast and season with salt and pepper.

Season 2 tbsp of parsley leaves with walnut oil and balsamic vinegar.

Empty the ramequins onto 2 plates. Put a heaped tbsp of the goat's cheese on top, followed by 2 slices of smoked beef and finish with the parsley salad on top

(Here the video with Jeroen Meus making this recipe in Flemish)

Swordfish tataki, cucumber salad, nori-mayo and fried sushi-rice

Rinse 50g sushi rice under cold water, add to 100ml water  and some salt. Bring to the boil, softly boil for 10 mins. Then leave under the lid for 15 mins.

Roast a leaf of nori in a dry pan

Make a mayo in the blender from 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tbsp sushi ginger, 1 tsp wasabi, some salt, 1 tbsp water and (bit by bit) 150 ml grape seed oil. Finely slice 1/4 red chili and 1/2 leaf of nori, add to the mayo with the juice of 1/2 lime and blend again

Transfer the rice to a bowl and mix with 1/2 tbsp sushi vinegar and some salt, cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge

Peel 1/2 cucumber and remove the seeds. Slice lengthwise into thins strips. Mix with 1 tbsp sushi vinegar and 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

Season 250g sword fish with salt and pepper, lightly oil and briefly grill in a very hot grillpan on both sides

Make golfballs from the cold rice, roll them in Panko and panfry them in hot oil.

Slice the fish and brush with ponzu 

Serve as shown with dots of the mayo and the leftover nori.

(Here the video with Jeroen Meus demonstrating this recipe in Flemish)

'Sushi' from fregula, avocado and tuna

Boil 100 g fregula al dente in salted water in 9 mins and cool under cold water.

Add 1 tbsp finely sliced mint leaves and 1 tbsp coriander leaves.

Put the meat of a ripe avocado in the blender with 1 tbsp sushi vinegar, 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp ginger syrup, the juice of a lime, 1 tbsp mascarpone, 25 ml double cream, salt and pepper. Turn into a creamy sauce.

Add 4 tbsp of this avocado creme to the fregula.

Serve as shown, with thinly sliced raw tuna, a slice of avocado and a chive on top.

A bit of soy sauce adds a nice touch

(Here a video in Flemish with Jan Tournier demonstrating this recipe)