Game, set and match
ST WILFRED, Archbishop of York, was one of the most illustrious prelates of the Anglo-Saxon Church. He was a monk of Lindisfarne and built many churches, notably those of York, Ripon and Hexham, and is venerated as one of the apostles of Sussex and the Isle of Wight. He is also Patron of the Oratory Novices and it is his feast-day on 12 October, when I hope he will be of great help to York and the Ora- tory, both of which have been getting the odd bit of flak now and then. We are now well into the glorious game season. I was at a dinner party this month where our kind host had provided 12 of us with perfectly delicious grouse birds with all the trim- mings, including home-made game chips. Greater love has no man. I watched with amazed horror as most of the guests picked little bits of breast off the birds and then gave up, leaving the rest, so I requested, and got, all the carcases to take home. I retrieved a good pound of flesh from the birds and transformed them into that nice old fashioned dish, a salmi, which is excel- lent for using up the remains of roasted game. The game should preferably be only half-roasted.
Salmi of game
Game birds, roasted rare 4 shallots, chopped fine 2 oz butter 1 heaped tablespoon of plain flour Bouquet garni, blade of mace Salt, pepper, Lemon juice The thinly pared rind of an orange
1/4 pint red or white wine 1/4 lb sliced mushrooms
Bread for croutons
Carve the meat off the bones as neatly as possible. Strip any skin or fat off the flesh and add this to the bruised carcases and other trimmings in a saucepan. Leave the hearts and livers, but remove the rather bit- ter spongy substance from inside the birds. Cover with water, veal or chicken stock; add a shallot, the mace, a few peppercorns, a bay leaf and the orange rind. Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour. Strain, return to the saucepan and reduce to 3/4 pint of stock. Season. In another saucepan large enough to accept all the ingredients, melt the butter and fry the shallots until soft and yellow; add the flour, cook for a couple of minutes, then pour in the stock,
little by little, to make the sauce. Let it sim- mer for half an hour or more until quite thick. Add the wine, and the mushrooms previously fried in butter. Simmer for five minutes. Turn the heat very low and put the game pieces in the sauce, leave for ten minutes to heat the flesh but on no account let it boil, which would ruin and toughen everything. Check seasoning and add a lit- tle lemon juice to your taste. Fry the slices of some good bread in butter. Arrange the salmi in the centre of a dish and surround it with the sippets of bread. A rich dish requiring but a light salad.
Now for something entirely different a mixture of a souffle and a cake given to me by my neighbour, Caroline Spencer, whose husband is the candidate for Brighton Pavilion and a Silk to boot. This is a Swiss receipt, I believe, and very good as a supper dish or a first course Cake au jambon
4 oz butter 2 tablespoons of oil — olive, corn, walnut or hazel 3 egg yolks 4 egg whites Salt and pepper 3 tablespoons of sour cream or creme fraiche Big handful of parsley and basil 6 oz good ham 2 oz fresh grated parmesan 2 oz fresh grated gruyere 5 oz self-raising flour 2 oz flaked almonds or split pistachio nuts
Lavishly butter our old friend the loaf tin. Sprinkle the nuts on the base and round the sides, if so desired. Into a proces- sor place the butter, oil, cream, egg yolks, herbs, a lot of freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt. Whizz into a purée, turn into a bowl. Stir in the cheeses and the finely diced ham. Whip the whites of egg stiffly; add a few spoonfuls to the mixture, then sift in the flour; mix throughly, adjust the seasoning — maybe a touch of Tabasco or cayenne? Fold in the rest of the whites, and pour into the loaf tin. Bake on an oven tray in a preheated oven at Gas 5, 200C, 390F for 30 minutes. When ready, run a knife around the inside of the tin and turn out to reveal the crunchy-nut bottom. Serve with a spicy tomato sauce with a helping of Dijon mustard stirred into it. Best hot, but also
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