Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad

This is the most ridiculously, stupidly good thing I've made in awhile.

This is on the menu at World #15 restaurant St. John in London. The menu changes daily, but Chef Fergus Henderson has vowed that this dish will never come off the menu. We have eaten this there a few times, and it is Vanessa's favorite dish to eat there.

This restaurant is the most inconspicuous, non-flashy place. It is in the meat district (near Smithfields) and the building used to be a smokehouse. You walk in there, and it is all white cinderblock walls, no fuss, completely austere. The menu is wonderfully hearty, British food. Totally uncomplicated. This dish really encompasses what the restaurant is all about: good, simple, honest food.

The twist? They take the stuff no one else uses, and make wonderful dishes out of it. This recipe is the best reflection of this philosophy. And it's dirt cheap.

Serve this with a ridiculously expensive red wine.

MARROW
12 pieces middle veal marrowbone, 7-8cm

SALAD
1 bunch parsley, picked
2 shallot, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 handful capers

DRESSING
juice of 1 lemon
extra-virgin olive oil
1 pinch sea salt and black pepper

DISH
toast (preferably sourdough)
coarse sea salt

Put the bone marrow in an ovenproof frying pan and place in a hot oven (450F). The roasting process should take about 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the bone. You are looking for the marrow to be loose and giving, but not melted away, which it will do if left too long (traditionally the ends would be covered to prevent any seepage, bur I like the coloring and crispness at the end).

Mean while lightly chop your parsley, just enough to discipline it, mix it with the shallots and capers, and at the last moment, dress.

Here is a dish that should not be completely seasoned before leaving the kitchen rendering a last-minute seasoning unnecessary by the actual eater: this, especially in the case of coarse sea salt, gives texture and uplift at the moment of eating. My approach is to scrape the marrow from the bone onto the toast and season with coarse sea salt. Then a pinch of parsley salad on top of this and eat. Of course once you have your pile of bones, salad, toast, and salt it is 'liberty hall'.