„Wouldn’t it be great if the egg just consisted of yolk?!“ said my grandfather when we enjoyed some hard-boiled eggs as part of a supper. He had a tendency to be self-indulgent, that’s for sure. My grandmother gave him a disdainful look, knowing too well that his lack of restraint was not limited to egg yolks.

I admire the dualism of the albumen and the yolk. It is as if mother nature has given us a quiz of how to play culinary domino. I suppose most people have have more egg whites than yolks leftover (unless you are a meringue addict or a bodybuilder). But in case you do have a recipe that asks for more egg whites than yolk, here is a very simple way to use up a leftover egg yolk: cure it!

All you need is good quality sea salt and a bit of patience. I use about half a cup for one yolk.

• Gently place the yolk in a shallow dish filled with fine sea salt.

• Cover it with more salt, cover the container with a lid and store in a fridge for 4 days. The salt will extract most of the liquid from the yolk. You could add some herbs to your salt to infuse the yolk with some additional aromas if you like.

• After 4 days carefully remove the yolks from the salt. Rinse them under cold water to remove the excess salt. Pat dry gently with kitchen paper and place on a baking sheet lined with paper. Dry in a preheated oven set at 65 degree celsius (150 degree fahrenheit) for 1.5 - 2 hours.

I would urge you to use good quality fine sea salt, rather than common salt, which I find can be rather bitter in flavour. And obviously use the freshest organic eggs you can find. I grate this over pasta tossed with butter, crostini topped with mashed beans.

Have you tried curing yolks and what do you like to use them for?