Duck's egg mayonnaise with broad beans

Serves 4

This is old-fashioned egg mayonnaise – but in a somewhat different guise. A deep-fried egg may sound a bit of a scary proposition, but it's delicious, as long as you make sure that you get the cooking time right to ensure that the yolk is just set.

4 duck eggs
1tbsp plain flour
1 hen's egg, beaten
40-50g fresh white breadcrumbs
Vegetable or corn oil for deep frying
250-300g podded weight of fresh or frozen broad beans
A handful of a single leaf salad such as land cress, buckler leaf sorrel, rocket etc
4 good tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep-fat fryer. Soft-boil the duck eggs by carefully placing in simmering water for 6 minutes, then refresh in cold water (if the duck eggs are very large you may need to give them an extra minute or so). Once cool enough to handle, peel them, ensuring you have removed all of the shell.

Have 3 dishes ready, one with the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, one with the beaten egg and the third with the breadcrumbs. Carefully pass the eggs through the flour, shaking off any excess, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Preheat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep-fat fryer. Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until tender, then drain in a colander. If they are large, then remove the outer shells.

Deep-fry the eggs for about 2-3 minutes or until golden, turning them as they are cooking, then remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper.

To serve, spoon a blob of mayonnaise into the centre of 4 serving plates, arrange the leaves and broad beans around, then place the eggs on the mayonnaise.