Vieille cuisine I -
I NOTICED in the Times a couple of weeks ago an article by Shona Crawford Poole (such a lovely name). She was hav- ing a terrible time trying to find a properly poached egg. Hers were served tasting of various vinegars, as it is meant to coagulate the white of the egg, but that has always been a disgusting idea and I feel for her dismay. The various other methods were very complicated, so I shall tell you the secret of the perfect poached egg, neatly formed with no whirling tentacles. James Coats, a great travelling friend of mine, discovered this method in a ship crossing the Atlantic.
Bring a frying pan of salted water to simmering point. Place an excellent egg in its shell into the water then roll it round and round whilst intoning two Our Fathers and one Hail Mary: about half a minute. Remove egg from the water with a perfo- rated spoon, then break into the just trembling water, cover with a lid and cook for as long as you fancy. Drain well in the spoon and serve as desired. The rolling of the egg in hot water will have set the white a tiny bit so when you crack it, it retains a nice shape.
Another old-fashioned favourite of mine which is hard to find nowadays is soft her- ring roes on toast. They are absolutely deli- cious, very cheap and I'm sure frightfully good for you if you are into health.
Herring roes on toast soft herring roes •
lemons plain flour cayenne pepper, salt thin streaky unsmoked bacon parsley, chopped butter and sun flower oil
Get fine fresh plump roes, about four per person. Wash under running hot water; this will remove the slime and stiffen them up. Drain on paper kitchen towels. Put enough flour in a plastic bag, then gently shake the roes in it to coat all over. Re- move from the bag, shake off surplus flour and lay on some greaseproof paper. Melt the butter with a slurp of oil in a good heavy frying pan; when it is just sizzling put in the roes and cook gently until golden brown on both sides. If you are dealing with more than one panful keep the cooked roes warm in the oven having re- moved them from the pan and drained them on some kitchen towel. Grill the bacon until brittle. Have ready some hot toast spread with anchovy paste or Gentle- man's Relish. Pile the roes onto the toasts, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and a touch of salt, crumble the bacon over the top and strew with chopped parsley. Serve with wedges of lemon.
I have just returned from my annual visit to Cockermouth, Cumberland, whence I brought you a marvellous coffee pudding last year, the concoction of my host Patri- cius Senhouse. Here is his first-class and simple receipt to make chutney.
Patricius's pickle
3lbs cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped llb soft brown sugar llb stoneless raisins lib stoneless dates 2lbs onions chopped 1 quart of white malt vinegar 1 dessert spoonful of rock salt 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper 1/4-oz each of cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns
Tie the cloves and peppercorns in a scrap of muslin attached to a string so you can remove them later. Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer until the required consistency is achieved, taking care to leave plenty of liquid or it will dry out later in the jar. Leave to cool, then put into good screwtop jars, having discarded the muslin bag with its contents. Particularly good with cold pork or lamb.
I am constantly amazed but bewildered by the extraordinary fruit and curious vegetables that appear in the super- and ordinary markets today. The usual re- sponse to my inquiries as to .what to do with them is 'Treat them like potatoes,' which I'm sure is, if not wrong, inadaqu- ate. Help is now to hand. There is a wonderful new Jane Grigson book, Exotic Fruits and Vegetables (Jonathan Cape, f12.95). Not only does it inform and give various ideas and receipts but is really beautfully illustrated by Charlotte Knox with 19th-century-style coloured drawings of every fruit and vegetable described. A joy to behold. There is a very sinister bunch of roots called Boesenbergia pandur- ata or Chinese key which is for fish curries or for soothing elephants' muscles and joints. Obviously an irresistible 'must' for all.
Jennifer Paterson
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