Seven Days of Foie Gras: 2) Foie Gras Ganache from Marcus Samuelsson

Continuing this week's series highlighting seven great foie gras recipes and the cookbooks behind them. Previous entries:

1. Shaved Foie Gras, Lychee & Pine Nut Brittle from the Momofuku Cookbook

Recipe 2: Foie Gras Ganache

The dish: This is the signature of Ethiopian-Swedish-American chef (it’s a long story) Marcus Samuelsson. Basically it’s the Michel Bras chocolate coulant cake, except its spiced with garam masala and using foie gras instead of chocolate. It’s not that hard to make, but as with many coulants the trick is to get the timing exactly right so the outside is lightly browned by the centre is still liquid.

Why it’s special: This is one of the most unusual foie gras dishes you will ever find – notable for having no connection with either the traditional terrine or sautéed slice. It’s also a rare example of crossover between the sweet and savoury kitchen – the sort of thing that Michel Richard does well but no-one else quite manages to pull off.

The chef and the book: Aquavit is a sparkling book, taken from the eponymous restaurant which won three NYT stars in its day for its updated Scandinavian cuisine. The style could best be described as Nobu-meets-Nordic, substituting salmon & lox for black cod & miso. As well as their use of Scandi ingredients, the recipes are notable for a certain lightness of touch. Stand-out dishes include Rice-Smoked Duck Breasts with Honey-Ice Wine Sauce, Crispy Seared Salmon Bundles with Orange-Fennel Broth and half a dozen different recipes for aquavit to get you through those long winter nights… (Having said that Pickled Herring Sushi-Style on balls of mashed potato are probably a fusion too far.)

Coming up tomorrow: Getting hot and steamy with a forgotten Italian star.