Marron with smoked paperbark butter, coastal herbs, youlk and bloodroot oil

Ingredients

Marron

• 1 marron
• 100 g butter, smoked with paperbark
• Ocean salt, to season
• Saltbush-cured emu egg yolk, shaved, to serve (see Notes)

Marron butter sauce

• 150 ml marron stock, prepared in advance (see Notes)
• 50 g cold butter, diced
• Bloodroot oil, a few drops, to finish (see Notes)

Coastal herb salad

• 1 stalk sea celery (see Notes)
• 1 stalk seablite (see Notes)
• 1 small youlk (a native Australian root vegetable, see Notes)
• 20 ml sea celery oil (see Notes)
• 10 ml Geraldton wax vinegar (see Notes)

Resting time: At least 30 minutes in an ice bath

Instructions

1. Place the marron in an ice bath for at least 30 minutes, until dormant. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water.
2. Humanely dispatch the marron, then blanch in the boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and plunge into the iced water. Leave for 5 minutes, then drain.
3. Remove the marron tail from the shell. Reserve the shell for marron stock and place the tail in the fridge until ready to cook.
4. To make the coastal herb salad, rinse and dry the sea celery and seablite. Pick into small pieces. Cut the youlk into thin batons or matchsticks. Just before serving, place in a bowl with the sea celery oil and Geraldton wax vinegar and toss gently to coat.
5. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the smoked paperbark butter. Add the marron tail and cook for 2-3 minutes, basting constantly, until just cooked through. Remove from the pan and rest briefly. Season with ocean salt.
6. Meanwhile, warm the marron stock in a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in the cold diced butter, a little at a time, until emulsified and glossy.
7. To plate, place the coastal herb salad on one side of the plate and the marron on the other, leaving space in the centre for the sauce. Spoon the marron butter sauce into the centre and finish with a few drops of bloodroot oil. Shave saltbush-cured emu egg yolk over the marron and serve.

Notes

• Specialty native ingredients can be sourced through native food suppliers. Do not forage coastal herbs unless you are experienced and have permission.
• Bloodroot oil, ocean salt, sea celery oil and saltbush-cured emu egg yolk are prepared in advance; refer to the Fervor recipe book.