Salted egg yolks

Cover the base of a container about 2cm deep in fine salt (crunchy won’t work).

Use the back of a tablespoon to make as many dents in the salt as there are yolks to cure.

Separate the yolks well so there is no white at all attached, then carefully sit them in the dents.

Completely cover the eggs with more salt. Leave in the fridge for eight hours, or overnight.

The next day, remove the yolks – they will have hardened to the texture of a sticky gummy sweet.

Wash them under cold water, dry them carefully on kitchen paper and marvel at how much they resemble dried apricots.

Heat your oven to its lowest setting (60C/fan 40C/gas 1 /4 is ideal) and dry the yolks on an oiled cooling rack for three hours until dry and hard.

Once they have cooled, the yolks are ready to finely grate. Amazingly, they will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 months.