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SERVES 4

RAVIOLI

120 g raw foie gras, diced

10 ml sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons shallot confit (see page 210)

2 tablespoons finely shredded flat leaf parsley

75 g chicken mousse (see page 214)

100 g fresh pasta (see page 208)

SOUP

150 g fresh or vacuum-packed chestnuts

75 g shallots (peeled and sliced)

3 sprigs of thyme

25 g unsalted butter

75 ml white wine vinegar

100 ml Madeira

600 ml hot white chicken stock (see page 199)

200 ml double cream

salt

FIRST MAKE THE RAVIOLI. Season the diced foie gras with salt and fry in a hot pan until golden brown. Transfer to a plate, drizzle over the sherry vinegar over and put in the refrigerator until chilled. Mix together the diced foie gras, the shallot confit, the parsley and the chicken mousse and leave in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until it is firm. Put a large pan of boiling water with a dash of olive oil on the stove and have a bowl of iced water ready and a slotted spoon.

FEED THE FRESH PASTA through a pasta machine a couple of times on each setting, gently pulling the pasta as it goes through the machine. Take the machine down to the very finest setting and feed the pasta through at least three more times. Dust your work surface with flour, cut the sheet in half and brush half with some water. Spoon the mixture onto the wet sheet and then lay the dry sheet on top. Use a pastry cutter to cut out 4 ravioli and seal with your fingertips, making sure that all the air is forced out. Cook the ravioli for just a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and plunge into the bowl of iced water. Drain, then drizzle with a little olive oil and refrigerate.

MAKE THE SOUP. Peel the chestnuts by piercing the dark husk. Run the point of a small knife along one side, then simply peel back the husk. An easy way to remove this is to dip the chestnuts, one at a time, into boiling water and then scrape it off while the chestnut is still warm. Slice the chestnuts as finely as possible.

IN A WARM COVERED pan sweat the shallots and thyme in the butter until the shallots are soft and transparent; do not let them colour. Season with salt, add the sliced chestnuts and cook, covered, for a further 5 minutes over a low heat; again, do not let them colour. Add the white wine vinegar, increase the heat and reduce until almost dry. Add the Madeira, reduce until dry then add the boiling stock. Bring the mixture back to the boil, then add the cream. Return the mixture to the boil, remove the thyme and then blend in a blender. Pass through a fine sieve and into a bowl over iced water to chill. Check the seasoning.

REHEAT THE SOUP and pour it into four soup bowls. Reheat the ravioli in a pan of boiling water and drop them into the soup.

The two main ingredients in this soup are in season at exactly at the same time. It is an old Spanish classic, Ajo Blanco, which can be served hot or cold. Fresh almonds can be difficult to source, even when they are in season during the summer months (July to October). When they are available I like to make the most of them. The apple jelly gives a good acidic undertone, but you could, if you like, garnish the soup with white grapes.