GENGHIS KHAN’S BEEF TARTARE WITH QUAIL’S EGG

Tartare is named after the nomadic Tatar horse-backed clan from the East, who rampaged the Polish lands, mincing horse meat under their saddles as they rode.

Make sure you use a respected butcher and request the best meat they have. You can also ask your butcher to mince the meat for you, but I prefer to chop it myself as finely as I can get it, then pulse it a couple of times in a food processor, as this adds more texture. {Serves 1}

100 g (3½ oz) finely chopped or minced organic beef fillet (tenderloin) steak

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 gherkin, finely chopped

½ teaspoon Sarepska or Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon white pepper

salt, to taste

1 quail’s egg

Put the finely chopped minced (ground) meat in a bowl and, using your hands, blend it with all the other ingredients, except the quail’s egg, adding salt and pepper as you mix it all together – tasting and adjusting the seasoning as you go. When it is to your taste, put it into a small bowl that has been rinsed in cold water, then chill in the fridge for half an hour to set it.

When ready to serve, tip the bowl upside down onto a serving plate and make a tiny indentation in the middle of the domed tartare. Carefully wash the outside of the quail’s egg and then break it into the tartare. Serve immediately.

{Time: 10 minutes, plus chilling time}