Cured Egg Yolks with Black Pepper, Bonito and Bay

Place bay leaves, bonito flakes and black peppercorns into a food processor with around 4 tablespoons of the salt and grind into a fine powder, making sure all of the flavourings are broken up. You may need to add the bonito flakes in batches, as they take up a lot of volume when in their wafer form.

Mix the spiced powder with remaining salt and sugar and stir well to combine.

Place half of the mixture into a container about 15cm x 20cm in size. You need there to be enough room to arrange all of the egg yolks with around 2cm in between them and the sides, so there is enough space for the curing mixture.

Make 6 divots for each of the yolks to sit in (using an egg to make the divot works well), and gently place a raw yolk into each.

Cover yolks, very gently, with remaining curing mix. Spoon it over at first, ensuring each yolk is well covered. Mark the location of the yolks with peppercorns, or something similar. Cover the container with cling film, leaving some small gaps for air and moisture to escape. Refrigerate for 5 days.

Gently remove the yolks from the curing mixture and gently brush off any excess salt, sugar, or spices on the surface. Clean the yolks by washing them in a bowl of cold water.

Place yolks on a wire rack in the oven at 60ºC (140ºF) for 2 to 3 hours, turning after 1 hour. The final product should be a dark yellow to orange, like dried apricots and hard like Parmesan cheese.

Refrigerate yolks until use.