Goods from the greats
WE HAVE another saint from across the Atlantic this week, Frances Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonised. She died in 1917 and was canonised in 1946. In fact she was born in Italy, at Sant' Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy. She became a nun at 18, then started the order of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She longed to missionise in China, but realised that the Italian immi- grants in the United States needed the help of her order in a big way. She established four hospitals, 50 orphanages, convents and schools and became a naturalised Ameri- can. She is regarded as the patron saint of immigrants. My nephew-in-law — if there be such a thing — David Chater, was sacked from the Investors Chronicle, so he got on his bike and pedalled round to visit many great chefs and wheedled cheap and delicious receipts from them. The result is a great little paper- back called The Impoverished Gastronome, published by Fourth Estate. Let us take an example from my beloved Rowley Leigh.
Roast cod with mustard gravy
For the gravy: 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 carrots, finely chopped 2 celery stalks, finely chopped a cod's head or two 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 sprig of thyme 1 bay leaf 6 peppercorns 1 dessertspoon flour 1 teaspoon tomato purée 1 pint water or white wine or half and half butter for frying, plus 2 oz for the sauce 2 tablespoons strong English mustard salt For the roast cod: 6 thick cod fillets 2 oz well-seasoned plain flour oil and butter for frying
Fry the onion, carrots and celery with the fish head in a little butter until well coloured. Add the garlic, thyme, bayleaf and peppercorns. Sprinkle with 1/2 a dessert- spoon of flour and cook until browning. Add the tomato purée and the wine or water or both. Bring to the boil and simmer uncov- ered for 30 minutes, skimming well, allowing it to reduce. Drain through a sieve, return to pan and whisk in the 2 oz of butter and the mustard. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon to taste. Preheat the oven to Gas 8, 450F, 230C. Dredge the cod fillets through the seasoned flour. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until very hot, then quickly brown the fillets on both sides. Transfer to the oven for 3-4 minutes until the cod is just cooked. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and plenty of the gravy.
I am exceedingly fond of rabbit and this is exceedingly good and simple, wormed out of Matthew Fanthorpe!
A casserole of wild rabbit with cream and tarragon
2 wild rabbits salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 oz butter 1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 leek, finely chopped 3 1/2 pints chicken stock 1 bunch tarragon
1 small carton double cream
Ask your friendly butcher to chop the rabbits into pieces, unless you are good at it yourself. Season them with salt and pepper. Heat the butter with a drop of oil until good and hot, and brown the rabbit pieces for about 5 minutes to seal the meat. When browned all over, transfer to a heavy casse- role with a slotted spoon. De-glaze the pan with a cup of the stock, scraping any little bits into the liquid. Pour into the casserole and add the rest of the stock. Remove the leaves from the tarragon and reserve. Tie the stalks together and insert into the rab- bit pieces. Preheat the oven to Gas 5, 375F, 190C. Cover the casserole and cook for 2 hours in the oven. Just before serving, remove the casserole from the oven, remove the bundle of tarragon stalks from within, stir in the cream and the leaves of tarragon, coarsely chopped. Mix well and adjust the seasoning. A squeeze of lemon does not come amiss. Serve with a creamy purée of celeriac and potatoes, using twice as much celeriac as potatoes.
And from the beautiful Simon Snow:
Charlotte clementines
6 small ramekin dishes 8 slices good white bread 2 az butter 12 clementines 3 oz sugar
Fry the bread in the butter on both sides. Cut off the crusts and roll out thinly while still warm. Cut into fingers, leaving a circle for the bottom and top of 6 small ramekin dishes; the fingers of fried bread should overlap each other round the sides of the ramekins. Peel the clementines, separate the segments and caramelise them in the sugar for 11/2 minutes. Add a little butter, pack the mixture tightly into the ramekins and seal with a round of fried bread. Cover each dish tightly with foil and steam for half an hour in a tray of water in a medium oven (Gas 4) — the water should reach halfway up the sides of the dishes. Turn out each one and grill to crisp them. Serve with crème anglaise or just cream.
Jennifer Paterson
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