LimL

Dine on fine finnan haddie

A FINE selection of saints this week: Fran- cis Borgia, Bruno the Great of Cologne, dear St Wilfrid, son of a thane of Northum- bria, and his contemporary St Ethelburga of Barking, who was the first abbess of a monastery for men and women — very modern. She was the sister of a bishop and (wrote the Venerable Bede) 'lived an upright life as the sister of a bishop ought to do'. Then we have the great Edward the Confessor and Teresa of Avila, whose heartfelt cry 'God deliver me from sullen saints' is an example to us all.

I have been thoroughly enjoying Richard Stein's television series from his fish restau- rant in Padstow. It is quite the best cooking programme I have ever seen. He is a lovely man — not to mention his dog, who is in danger of stealing the show — and it shines through, together with his passion for his wonderful fresh fish. I have made his smoked haddock mousseline from ages back and I don't suppose it will feature in the show; it is exquisite and easy, so I offer it to you now.

Mousseline of finnan haddock with horseradish sauce

You can make this with lesser varieties of smoked haddock but you can't beat the real thing.

11/z lbs finnan haddock on the bone

1 egg and 1 egg yolk '/z oz of peeled onion 1 level teaspoon of salt juice of a quarter lemon 12 fluid oz of double cream, chilled

For the sauce:

2 teaspoons freshly grated horseradish or the strongest sauce you can find 2 fluid oz double cream '/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar (omit if using sauce) pinch of salt

Ask your fishmonger to fillet and skin the finnan haddock for you, unless you are adept at such things. Place the fish, eggs, onion and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour in the cream, which must be well chilled, and continue to blend for 15 seconds only (don't go on any longer or you will curdle it). Chill the mix- ture for 30 minutes. Set your oven to Gas 2, 300F, 150C. Butter a suitable mould like a small bread tin 9 x 4 x 2 inches. Fill with the mousseline. Find a shallow roasting-tin in which you can fit your mould, place the mould in the tin and half fill the tin with water. Bring the water in the tin to the boil on top of the cooker and then transfer to the top shelf of the oven and cook for about 40 minutes. To tell if the mousseline is cooked, insert a thin knife or skewer into the centre and test on your top lip; if it feels warm, the mousseline is cooked enough. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then chill for at least 4 hours. Turn out the mousseline by dipping the mould into a sink of hot water while you count to six, then invert over a dish, bringing the mould down with a sharp tap. Make the horseradish sauce by mixing all the ingredi- ents. Serve a slice of mousseline with a spoonful of sauce. I adore sweetbreads, which are not, despite the popular misconception, testi- cles, but the thymus gland, though I did once cook testicles in Benghazi due to early ignorance. But they were delicious in any case, so all was well. I found some sweet- breads at my butcher last week, so here goes.

Lamb sweetbreads

2 lbs lamb sweetbreads light veal or chicken stock or white wine and water 2 carrots, sliced 1 onion, sliced 1 celery stick, sliced streaky bacon slices 2 sprigs of parsley 2 oz butter 4 oz thick cream 4 oz mushrooms, cut into chunks

Soak the sweetbreads in salted water for at least an hour. Drain and place in a saucepan. Cover with the stock or a mixture of the wine and water. Bring slowly to sim- mering point and cook for 3 minutes. Drain but reserve the cooking liquid. Rinse the sweetbreads in a bowl under a running tap of cold water. With your hands remove any fat and nasty little nodules and the thicker bits of membrane.

Place the sweetbreads between two plates or boards with a weight on top and chill (overnight if you wish). This will give them a uniform thickness. Find a casserole which will just fit the sweatbreads in a single layer. Place the vegetables at the bottom, then a layer of streaky bacon, then the sweetbreads and then another layer of bacon. Cover with the reserved cooking liquid, add the parsley and season well.

Bring to simmering point, then transfer, covered, to a preheated oven Gas 1-2, 300F, 150C for 45 minutes. Melt butter in a frying- pan and very gently sauté the sweetbreads on each side until they are palest gold. Add the mushrooms which have been fried in a little butter just briefly, and 2-4 tablespoons of the cooking liquid plus the cream. Turn the heat up and rotate until bubbling and thickened. Serve on slices of French bread fried in butter.

Jennifer Paterson