Butter Poached Lobster (sous vide), with Girolles and Hazelnuts

Girolles and hazelnuts are just the most glorious combination - both sweet, nutty and earthy, they complement each other well.  The lobster was actually just a vehicle for the girolles, and it could just as easily have been baked squash I made last week, or any number of roasted vegetables.

Girolles are a beautiful colour - they look (and are said to smell) like apricots.  They generally grow in a group together, and are best picked a few days after rain, to allow a decent amount of growth.

Risotto, with mushrooms, cep roasted chicken, and summer truffle

Risotto, with mushrooms,
cep roasted chicken, and summer truffle

There are a thousand different ways to make risotto, but how do you make risotto memorable?  In the last twenty years there are four that I can recount in vivid detail:

• In Lucca, we had an amazing barolo risotto with gorgonzola - umami heaven - salty, blue notes, rich, dense, it was utterly heavenly.