Mushroom conserve
• Rinse the mushrooms to remove any dirt and dry on a paper towel.
• Remove the shitake stems and trim the ends of the other stems. Leave small mushrooms whole but cut larger mushrooms into pieces or into slices. The pieces of mushroom will shrink as they cook, but the finished pieces should not be larger than one bite.
• Combine the olive oil, garlic clove, bay leave, thyme sprigs, rosemary, and D’Espelettein a large sauté pan and heat over medium to medium-high heat until the oil reaches 76c (170°F).
• Add the mushrooms to the pot and gently turn them in the oil.
• When the oil reaches 170°F again, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain the temperature and cook for 5 minutes, gently turning the mushrooms from time to time. The mushrooms will not initially be submerged in the oil, but they will wilt as they steep.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, and let the mushrooms steep in the oil for 45 minutes.
• Transfer the mushrooms, oil and herbs to a sterilised covered storage container; the mushrooms should be covered by the oil. The mushrooms will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3months.
Focaccia crostini
• Pre heat oven to 160c fan assisted.
• Slice the day-old focaccia as thinly as possible ideally 1-2mm and lay in a single layer on an oven tray.
• Drizzle each slice with extra virgin olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Bake in the oven for approx. 10-15 minutes until dry, crisp, and golden brown.
• Leave to cool and store for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Wagyu Carpaccio
• Whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, thyme leaves and garlic.
• Next combine the salt, pink, Sichuan and black peppercorns and grind to fine ish powder in a pestle and mortar and spread out on a tray.
• Coat the outside but not the ends of wagyu fillet in the mustard, olive oil mix and then roll in the ground peppercorns to form a crust on the outside of the meat.
• Tightly wrap the beef in cling film, keeping the cylindrical shape as symmetrical as possible, then place in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
• Heat a pan over medium high heat and add enough oil until the it coats the bottom of the pan. Unwrap the beef and when the oil is shimmering sear on all four sides to form a golden crust.
• Rewrap the beef in cling film again keeping the cylindrical shape and freeze for 45minutes to make slicing easier.
• Remove the fillet from the freezer and using a very sharp carving knife slice as thinly as possible, about 2mm. Leaving the cling film on makes this easier, but make sure you remove any after slicing.
• Place the slices of beef between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll with a rolling pin to make them even thinner, then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Place the slices of carpaccio in a single layer individually on a plate or for a group on a large platter. Sprinkle the meat with pieces of the mushroom conserve, a touch of the oil vinegar mix, finely grated Parmigiano, chopped chives and broken pieces of the crostini. Serve immediately.