Cupid's caviar

Ingredients

10-12 baby new potatoes
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and grated
4 tbsp crème fraîche
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g/1¼oz can of caviar
a few chive stalks, cut into 5mm/¼in pieces

Method

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. This will take about 10-12 minutes. Drain, then leave in the saucepan, covered with a tea towel, for 5 minutes. This will give a fluffier texture to the potatoes. Cut each one in half and slice a thin slither off the skin end so they sit flat on a serving plate, cut-side up. These can now be left to cool completely.
2. Firmly squeeze all excess liquid from the apple into a glass - you will be surprised how much liquid comes out - and you now have a really fresh glass of apple juice to drink. Mix the grated apple with the crème fraîche and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Spoon a little on top of each cooled potato half, then carefully place a small spoonful of caviar on top. To finish, add a twist of pepper and a couple of chive stalks.

Some useful tips when buying caviar
Beluga caviar is sold in a blue tin and is the most highly regarded and expensive. It is large-grained and grey or rarely golden in colour. Oscietreis caviar is sold in a yellow can. It is medium-grained and varies in colour from golden brown/bottle green/grey to bluish white. Sevruga caviar is sold in a red tin and is less expensive. It is small-grained and greeny black in colour.