Mark Hix cooking with Clarence Court eggs

Mark Hix is a celebrated food writer and renowned restaurateur. With 17 years experience as Head Chef at La Caprice Holdings, he has opened several restaurants since 2008 – Hix Oyster Chop House in Smithfield, London, Hix Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis, HIX in Soho, HIX in Selfridges, London and HIX in Belgravia earlier this year.
He has written many cookbooks for Quadrille, including ‘British Seasonal Food’ which won cookery book of the year at the Guild of Food Writers Awards. He writes a weekly column for Independent on Saturday and a monthly column for Countrylife.

“I’m a big fan of Clarence court eggs – their eggs are packed full of flavour, a must for any chef, and their yolks are a really rich orange colour not quite like any other eggs on the market.”

Watch as Mark Hix cooks Easy Over Clarence Court Goose Egg with Caper and Lemon Crust.. (click on photo to go to film) .. recipe is below

Easy over goose egg with caper and lemon crust
serves 2
The size of a goose egg is slightly daunting maybe but served literally as a main course with a little natural seasoning like capers and lemon it would make the perfect vegetarian or brunch dish.

2 goose eggs
olive or rapeseed oil for frying
For the topping
60g fresh white breadcrumbs, lightly toasted
30g butter, melted
2tbls capers, rinsed, dried and chopped
the finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1tbls chopped parsley
1tbls chopped chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together for the topping and season to taste. Now hopefully you will have a couple of non stick frying pans, if not you will have to cook the eggs individually. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the eggs on a low heat for 3-4 minutes, seasoning the white as they are cooking. Flip the eggs over, season and cook for another minute then slide onto warm serving plates and scatter the crust on top.

And here’s another film, this time he is cooking Scrambled Clarence Court Rhea Egg in Shell with Asparagus Soldiers…

Chopped duck livers on toast with a fried pheasant egg
Serves 4

Pheasant eggs are probably the closest thing I have come across to a gulls egg, although boiling and peeling them proves difficult as the shell just sticks to the white. This is such a simple, tasty and inexpensive dish and quick to knock up at home. You can use duck or chicken livers for this and fresh is always preferable to frozen.

2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
100g butter
250g fresh chicken or duck livers, cleaned and cut into even-sized chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pheasant eggs
A little olive or rapeseed oil for frying
Thick slices of hot toast to serve

A dash of sherry

Melt half the butter in a saucepan and gently cook the shallots and garlic for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often until soft, then remove from the heat.

Dry the chicken livers on some kitchen paper. Season them and then melt the rest of the butter in a frying pan until it begins to foam. Add the livers and cook them for a couple of minutes on each side and add a dash of sherry to the pan. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and mix with the shallots and garlic.

With a heavy knife, chop the livers fairly finely on a chopping board, or give them literally a few seconds in a food processor and re season if necesarry. Lightly fry the pheasant eggs in the oil  then spoon the livers generously on to the toast and place the fried eggs on top.

For more details about Clarence Court eggs, go to: http://www.clarencecourt.co.uk/

Two Greedy Italians - Still Hungry - second episode is on at 8pm, 26.04.12

David Chater’s preview of tonight’s programme in The Times

“First, the pair

cook red mullet with tomatoes, anchovies and porcini mushrooms.  Next they make a baked dish out of layers of potato and cabbage, and finally they serve up torn sheets of pasta tossed in freshly made pesto.  It would be worth buying the book

for these recipes alone.”

Win a copy of Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy by Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo

Nowhere is food as much a part of everyday life as Italy – a country whose unique topography has resulted in distinct regional differences that are vibrantly alive and passionately celebrated. Following the success of Two Greedy Italians,

Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo

embark on a journey to explore Italy’s distinct and varied terrains, and to find out how these have shaped the produce and, in turn, the peoples and their traditions. From snow-peaked mountains

to lush plains, our two greedy Italians

go in search of their homeland’s varied culinary styles. They venture into the Alps

for comfort food – those heart-warming dishes based around the use of butter, potatoes, polenta and rice. They head to the sea to uncover the many delicious fish and shellfish dishes emanating from this magnificent peninsula with its 1500 miles of coastline, as well as the distinctive cuisine of the Italian islands. Finally, they examine the rich agricultural plains through which flow some of the greatest rivers in Europe – in particular the Po in the north and the Tiber in the centre – revealing their historic influence on the foods grown and cooked within these regions.

Containing over 80 mouth-watering recipes and breathtaking photography,

Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy showcases the wisdom and passion of these two men

for their native land, its people and produce. It is an essential book for anyone with an interest in this extraordinary country and its food.

About The Authors

Antonio Carluccio

(pictured on the left) is one of Italy’s great food ambassadors. He has written fourteen bestselling books, including Complete Italian Food, Complete Mushroom Book, Italia and Simple Cooking and has also made numerous television programmes. With Priscilla Carluccio he ran the Neal Street Restaurant in London’s Covent Garden and spent 10 years developing the hugely successful Carluccio’s Caffés. In 1998 he was given the Commendatore award – the equivalent of a British knighthood – for his knowledge, enthusiasm and lifetime’s service to the Italian food industry. In 2007 he received the O.B.E.

Gennaro Contaldo

(pictured left) is widely known as the Italian legend who taught Jamie Oliver all he knows about Italian cooking. He is also a highly respected chef in London and a renowned personality in his own right. Gennaro’s quintessentially Italian spirit has made him a TV favourite, regularly appearing on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen.

To win a copy of the forthcoming book,

just answer this simple question:

What is the date of the first episode of the new series and also the date of Antonio’s 75th Birthday? <Clue: it’s one and the same>

Is it:

(a) 19.04.12

or

(b) 31.04.12?

To enter, you need to reply via twitter  @QuadrilleFood with both the date and the name of the book in two hashtags.  All entries must be received before 12noon on 1.04.12. Don’t be an april fool by missing out!

Please note, if you aren’t on twitter, you can also enter by emailing publicity@quadrille.co.uk before 12 noon on 01.04.12 with the hashtags in the header!

All photography* (C) David Loftus

* except book jacket for Two Greedy Italians (C) Chris Terry