Crêpes parmentière with smoked eel, crispy bacon and horseradish

Method

1. First clarify the butter. Melt it in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until foaming. Pour through a small muslin-lined sieve set over a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Now make the horseradish cream. If you want a stiffish result, whip the cream first. Stir in the horseradish a teaspoon at a time, tasting as you go. There is no going back! Add a spritz of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside while you make the pancakes.

3. Put the potatoes through the coarse disc of a mouli, or mash them by hand. Put them in a bowl with the milk, flour, eggs, whites and cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then whisk to a creamy batter.

4. Heat a tiny bit of the clarified butter in a crêpe pan over medium-high heat. Add a small ladle of batter, rotating the pan to form a thin circle. Flip the crêpe with a palette knife after a couple of minutes, once it begins to bubble and brown around the edge.

5. Transfer the cooked crêpe to a plate and keep warm in a low oven while you make the rest.

6. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Throw in the bacon rashers and fry in their own fat until curled and crisp.

7. Place a chunk of eel on each pancake, followed by the bacon and a dollop of horseradish cream. Serve at once.