Truffle and crayfish fava

This fava puree recipe is exactly like the one I tried in Turkey. I’ve just added a touch of truffle oil to give it a lift. I swear this is the best dip you’ll ever eat and it sums up the glitz and glamour of Bodrum. If you can’t find fresh truffles to shave over the top, just drizzle with a little extra truffle oil.

• serves

  6-8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 125 g unsalted butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped preserved lemon
• 100 g (1 cup) flaked almonds, toasted
• 2 tsp red pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Truffled fava puree

• 300 g (1⅓ cups) yellow split peas
• 2 French shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
• sea salt, to taste
• 3 tsp truffle oil

Crayfish

• 2 litres cold water
• 1 handful of sea salt
• 250 ml (1 cup) white wine
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 live crayfish

To serve

• shaved fresh black truffle and flatbreads

Chilling/freezing time 5 minutes

Instructions

To make the fava puree, rinse the split peas under cold running water until the water runs clear. Place in a saucepan with the shallots, carrot and celery and add enough water to cover. Cook  over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes or until mushy. Strain the peas through a sieve and reserve the cooking liquid. Puree the peas and vegetables in a high powered blender until smooth- adding enough of the cooking liquid to make a thick but not too dense puree. Stir in the truffle oil and season to taste. If making this ahead of time, place in a bowl, cover closely with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until required. Re-heat just before serving as this is best served warm.

Meanwhile, to cook the crayfish, place all the ingredients except the crayfish in a large, heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Add the crayfish and cook for 4-6 minutes, then remove with tongs and place in large bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. Drain, then crack open the crayfish, remove the meat and coarsely tear into pieces.

Just before serving, melt 100 g butter in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the crayfish and toss until the butter begins to turn nut-brown. Stir in the preserved lemon, almonds, pul biber and a pinch of salt, then add the remaining butter and when melted, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to stop it cooking further.  

To serve, spoon the fava puree into bowls, top with the crayfish and drizzle with a little brown butter mixture from the pan. Shave a little black truffle over the top and serve immediately with flatbreads.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.