James Martin’s French Adventure: Recipes

Soak the split peas the day before making this soup, then serve it topped with Bayonne ham (Peter Cassidy)

Split pea soup with Bayonne ham

Serves 4

You’ll need to start this comforting soup a day ahead, as the split peas must be soaked overnight.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, diced
200g yellow split peas, soaked overnight
500ml chicken stock
200ml double cream
4 slices Bayonne ham
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the shallots over medium heat for 1–2 minutes until starting to soften.

Drain the soaked peas, then add to the pan with the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Simmer gently for 25–30 minutes, or until the peas are soft. Remove from the heat.

Using a stick blender, blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper, then gently reheat the soup to warm through.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the Bayonne ham.

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Serve the skate on a warm platter (Peter Cassidy)

Pan-fried skate wing with nut-brown butter

A classic French dish I just had to include in the book, plus I waited ages at a market stall in Marseille to buy this piece of fish, and it didn’t disappoint.

Serves 2

25ml olive oil 300g skate wing, trimmed
125g butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
75g baby capers, rinsed and drained
2 lemons, juiced
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
ea salt and freshly 
ground black pepper 

Place a heavy-based non-stick frying pan over medium heat, then drizzle in the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the skate wing to the pan and allow to cook for three to four minutes until golden brown. Using a fish slice, turn the skate over and cook on the other side for another three to four minutes until just cooked. Remove the skate from the pan and place on a warm serving platter.

Add the butter to the same pan and let it turn a nut-brown colour before adding the shallot. Reduce the heat and cook gently for a minute, then add the capers and lemon juice and cook for about two minutes before adding the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the capers and nut-brown lemon butter over the skate wing and serve at once.

Cook the duck legs in fat until tender

Confit duck with bean stew

Serves 4

Now common all over France, confit duck was originally a speciality of Gascony, where it has been made this way for centuries. Traditionally, the duck legs were cured in salt before being slowly cooked in their own fat. The great thing about duck confit is that you can use the fat for seriously good roast potatoes or combine it with some of the shredded meat to make rillettes (another recipe in the bok).

For the confit duck legs

4 duck legs
500g duck fat, at room temperature
2 bay leaves
small bunch of thyme 

For the bean stew

1 large onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
50ml olive oil
400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed 
400g tin chopped tomatoes
25g tomato purée
large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. For the confit duck, place the duck legs in a large ovenproof dish with a lid and cover with the duck fat. Add the bay leaves and thyme, cover and cook in the oven for three hours until the duck is very tender.

For the bean stew, place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook for five minutes until softened. Add the beans and tomatoes and stir in the tomato purée.

Bring to the boil and cook over medium heat for another five minutes, then stir in the parsley.

Carefully remove the confit duck legs from the dish and drain on kitchen paper. Place a non-stick frying pan over high heat, add the duck legs and fry until browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the bean stew.

'James Martin’s French Adventure' by James Martin (Quadrille, £20). Photography © Peter Cassidy