Recipe: French ceps with potatoes, garlic and goat's cheese

Martin Walker, author of the best-selling Bruno, Chief of Police series, has, along with his wife Julia Watson, created a sumptuous cookbook titled Bruno’s Cookbook: Recipes and Traditions from a French Country Kitchen, featuring recipes from Bruno’s beloved Périgord (Dordogne).

Ceps with potatoes, garlic and goat's cheese

After autumn rain showers, Périgord mushroom-hunters go foraging. 

Cars park along the verges of forested lanes, and their passengers disperse furtively in search of ceps (porcini). Everyone has their favorite secret place. There is a mild controversy, pointless from a Périgourdin’s point of view, over the correct spelling of “ceps.” In Paris, where the mushrooms do not grow in the city parks, they are called “cèpes.” 

Ingredients

Serves four

• 250g fingerling, Ratte, or other waxy potatoes, scrubbed or peeled, quartered

• 500g ceps

• 60ml extra virgin oil, plus 2 tablespoons duck fat or extra-virgin olive oil for flavour

• 1 small shallot, peeled, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon fine breadcrumbs

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 1⁄2 lemon

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 4 rounds of goat's cheese, such as Crottin or Rocamadour

Method

1. In a large pot, boil the potatoes until just cooked. Drain and reserve them.

2. Wipe the ceps clean with a damp paper towel. Remove their stems, slice off their bases, roughly chop them, and set them aside.

3. Thickly slice each cep’s cap.

4. Heat the oil and the duck fat if using or the extra 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan, add the cep caps and potatoes, and sauté them over medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, tossing frequently. Add the chopped stems, shallot, and garlic, and toss continuously for another 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat, cover, and continue to cook, another 5 minutes. Remove the lid, and spoon off any remaining oil. Add the breadcrumbs and two-thirds of the chopped parsley. Stir everything, and leave it over low heat so the breadcrumbs absorb the remaining juices. Squeeze the lemon juice over it, season, and stir.

5. Slice the goat cheese into 1 1⁄4-inch (3-centimeter)-thick rounds, lay these over the top of the ceps, and cover the pan with the lid. Continue to heat this for 2 to 3 minutes, to allow the cheese to slump, melting just enough so it retains its shape. Sprinkle the remaining parsley over everything, and serve it directly from the pan with warm crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Recipe featured in 'Bruno’s Cookbook: Recipes and Traditions from a French Country Kitchen' by Martin Walker & Julia Watson is out now (£26, Quercus)