Charm the savage breasts
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IF MUSIC be the food of love we can celebrate its patron on 22 November, Saint Cecilia's day, though how she came to be chosen as such is rather a mystery. After describing the poor girl's martyrdom by roasting in a dry bath to no avail and then being partly beheaded by an incompetent executioner who left her to bleed to death for three days, Chaucer produced one couplet by which Cecilia's musical reputa- tion must stand: And while the organs maden melodic To God allone in herte thus sang she.
The Second Nun's Tale However, by the Middle Ages she was well-established when the guilds of musi- cians adopted her as their patron saint, and with a few hiccups like the Reformation and the Puritans she has stood her ground. Mussels are meant to be a good food for love, so perhaps we should consume them for her feast.
This concoction was arrived at after I had bought a quantity of mussels and then found I had about a pint of vichyssoise left over in the refrigerator. I had no white wine, but did have a bottle of La Ina kindly sent to me by Simon & Schuster publica- tions to accompany Elisabeth Luard's ex- cellent little book about tapas. (Why are people advertising tapas bars? Bars have tapas, not the other way round.)
Mussels with Vichyssoise
For the vichyssoise: 6 good leeks 6 medium potatoes 2oz unsalted butter 2 pints water or light chicken stock 6 fluid oz thick cream salt and pepper Slice the white part of the leeks very finely (you can use the green part as a perfectly satisfactory vegetable). Stew in a saucepan with the butter until softish then add the peeled potatoes, also finely sliced. Stir together and pour in the water or stock and about a dessertspoon of Malden salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes. When cooled a little, whizz the whole lot in a blender. Leave to get cold, then stir in the cream. Check the seasoning and chill thoroughly for about six hours; serve in little bowls with a sprinkling of chives if so desired. This amount will be enough for eight people, so if you only have six you will have some left over for the mussels.
I reckon on a quart of mussels per person for a main course so this would be a healthy amount for two, or maybe three, at a pinch.
2 quarts mussels a bunch spring onions good handful parsley 5 fluid oz dry sherry or dry white wine about 1 pint of vichyssoise Buy your mussels in the morning if possible and leave to soak in cold water all day: this will ease the mud off. Discard any broken ones. Clean thoroughly under run- ning water, removing beards and seaweed. Have a fine big saucepan at the ready and strew the bottom with the trimmed spring onions and the parsley, both finely chop- ped. Pour in the sherry or wine then pile the mussels on top. Cover with a well- fitting lid and set over a medium heat. Turn the shells from time to time until they are all open. Throw away any that firmly refuse to open. In a separate saucepan, heat the vichyssoise while the mussels are opening, then pour it all over them. Serve in big soup plates which have been well heated, and provide some good crusty bread. , A tasty dish from the tapas book and suitably in season:
Spiced pigeons
4 pigeons, cleaned and quartered 8 tablespoons olive oil 2 onions, chopped 16 fat garlic cloves, unpeeled 2 wine glasses dry sherry 1 tablespoon wine vinegar 2 bay leaves salt and pepper Heat the oil in a heavy casserole. Place the pigeon quarters therein and turn them in the hot oil. Add the chopped onions and the whole garlic cloves, fry for a moment or two. Pour in the sherry and the vinegar, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and tuck in the bay leaves. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat to a simmer, cover tightly and cook gently for 40 to 50 minutes until the pigeon pieces are quite tender. Towards the end remove the lid and evaporate all the juices leaving the pigeons bathed in aromatic oil.
Serve with bread, and make sure every- one has their fair share of the garlic cloves.
Jennifer Paterson
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