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200ml milk

425ml double cream

2 anchovies, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, lightly smashed in their skins

1 lemon: finely shave the skin into strips

2 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground

850g Yukon gold potatoes (or red potatoes), peeled and sliced ½cm thick (700g)

1–2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced (300g)

4 egg yolks

10g dill fronds, roughly chopped

20g chives, finely chopped

20g parsley leaves, finely chopped

1½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened

200g smoked salmon slices, roughly torn

salt and black pepper

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Lemon butter sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp capers, roughly chopped

40g unsalted butter, fridge cold and roughly cubed

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1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan.

2. Put the milk, cream, anchovies, garlic, lemon strips and ground fennel seeds into a small pan. Cook on a very low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and pressing on the solids to release their flavour, taking care that it does not come to the boil. Remove from the heat.

3. Place the sliced potatoes and fennel in a medium saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 6–7 minutes, until just tender. Drain and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Strain the infused milk mixture into the eggs, pressing the solids against the sieve. Whisk to combine.

5. Combine all the herbs in a small bowl. Measure out 2 tablespoons into a separate small bowl for the butter sauce and set both aside.

6. Grease an ovenproof dish – about 26cm wide – with ½ tablespoon of the butter. Spoon a third of the potato and fennel all over the base and grind over some pepper. Sprinkle over half the herbs and drape half the smoked salmon on top. Repeat with half the remaining potatoes and fennel (plus the pepper), all the remaining salmon and the other half of the herbs. Arrange the final layer of potatoes and fennel on top and carefully pour over the egg mix. Grind over some more pepper and dot over the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake for 45 minutes, until the custard is just set and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, put the lemon juice into a small pan on a medium-high heat and bring to a bubble. Let it bubble for 1 minute and then add the capers and butter, a few pieces at a time. Whisk until smooth and creamy, take off the heat and stir in the reserved herbs, along with some pepper. Spoon over the bake and serve warm.

Notes:

This dish evolved from a recipe for lax pudding which Yotam published a while back in the Guardian. Lax pudding is Swedish comfort food 101, with purists spooning over lots of melted butter as they eat it with crisp bread, a leafy salad and a glass of beer. Adding the fennel makes the texture slightly scrambled, which we like. It lightens the load at the same time as taking nothing from its comfort food credentials. Eat it as a main course. Green salad is a must. The crisp bread and beer are up to you.

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