Chou marin

Egg fat and lemon over blanched stems. The Victorian recipe, unchanged.

Steam it four minutes and drown it. Anything more cooks the flavour off.

Acid against a faintly bitter stem that is otherwise almost sweet.

Raw yolk mounted into the pan juice coats the stems without heat.

Dairy fat rounds off the brassica edge that blanching leaves behind.

Nutty solids find the hazelnut note the forced stems already carry.

Shore vegetable, shore shellfish; both sweet, both faintly saline.

Grown on shingle, it tastes of the same beach. Serve them raw together.