Ingredients
4 x 500g spatchcocks, deboned in half, thighbone removed
500ml Jersey or good quality fresh milk
20ml white wine vinegar
30g Parmesan, grated
1 egg yolk
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
400g kipfler potatoes
2 bunches asparagus, peeled and sliced
1 cup podded fresh broad beans
2 small fennel bulbs, green tips removed and reserved
75ml white wine vinegar
75ml water
20gm castor sugar
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
75ml extra virgin olive oil
½ cup mustard cress
50ml vegetable oil
Method
1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk to 82°C, remove from the heat and gently stir in the vinegar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before scooping off the curds into a sieve to drain (you should get about 125g of ricotta).
2. Once cool, mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, egg yolk, thyme and rosemary and season with salt and pepper.
3. Pipe heaped teaspoon amounts of the ricotta mixture under the breast and thigh skin of the spatchcocks and refrigerate.
4. Wash the kipflers and cover with cold water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender when pricked with a knife.
5. Drain, and while still hot, gently peel off the skins and cut into 1cm slices.
6. Blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, and refresh in iced water.
7. Blanch and refresh the broad beans in the same water, then gently slip off their outer skins with your fingers.
8. Finely dice one of the fennel bulbs and shave the other with a sharp knife or mandolin.
9. Bring the white wine vinegar, water, sugar, fennel seeds and salt to the boil and add the diced fennel. Simmer gently for 3 minutes, then strain off the diced fennel and reduce the pickling solution by half.
10. Whisk in the Dijon mustard and olive oil and stir in the cooked diced fennel. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Season both sides of the spatchcocks and fry in a heavy based pan, skin side down, until golden and crispy.
12. Turn and cook for another 2 minutes, then transfer to a roasting tray and roast in a 200°C oven for 8 minutes.
13. Reheat the kipflers, asparagus and broad beans in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain well and toss with a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette.
14. Divide between four plates and arrange the roasted spatchcock on top.
15. Spoon the remaining vinaigrette over the spatchcock and garnish with a mixture of the shaved fennel, fennel tips and mustard cress.
Wine match: Chardonnay, Fiano or Arneis