IT SEEMS an age since I mentioned saints; I have
been neglecting them for mammon and opening church fetes for the last three weekends, not to mention filming all over the place and forgetting to write one piece when lost in the wilds of Cumbria. Howev- er, we have some very important ones com- ing up: St Mary Magdalen, penitent; St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr; St James the Great, he of the coquilles Saint- Jacques, son of Zebedee and brother of St John the apostle and patron saint of Spain, where pilgrims still make their way to San- tiago de Compostela. Then there are St Anne and St Joachim, parents of Our Lady; dear St Christopher who saves our lives on the open road; poor little St Martha who never got any thanks for the housework and cooking and, finally, the great St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.
Thermidor was the name given to the 11th month of the Republican calendar during the French Revolution. The name `Revolution of Thermidor' is often given to the events of 9 Thermidor, year two (27 July 1794) — how about that for trivial pur- suits? What it has to do with the lobster heaven knows, but I think we should try it in memoriam.
Lobster thermidor
3 lobsters, ready boiled 5 shallots, chopped 2 oz butter 1 glass thy white wine or thy sherry
11/2 pints momay sauce
freshly grated mixture of parmesan and gruyere breadcrumbs salt, pepper and cayenne French mustard — Dijon
Remove and crack the lobster claws, take out the flesh and dice it. With a sharp knife split the lobsters in half lengthwise. Remove the tail meat and coral and soft parts, chop and add to the claw flesh. Scrape the shells as clean as possible. In a saucepan cook the shallots in butter until soft, add the wine or sherry and reduce to 11/2 tablespoons. Stir in the mornay sauce,
`You do realise there is a .1.50 call-out charge?' the cheese and mustard to taste, then sea- son with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Put some of the sauce in the bottom of the shells, then the lobster flesh, equally divided, and finish with the rest of the sauce. Mix enough breadcrumbs and more of the cheese and sprinkle them on top. Pour a little melted butter over each. Arrange on a baking tray and grill until hot and bubbling and lightly brown.
To honour St James, let us have the beloved Rick Stein's wonderful dish of coquilles Saint-Jacques, a most interesting mixture. It serves four.
Scallops with duck livers
12 large, prepared scallops 4 oz duck livers 10 fl oz good fish stock 4 fl oz double cream 4 £1 oz sweet white wine (Baume de Venise) 6 oz spaghettini 1 oz unsalted butter salt and freshly ground black pepper flat-leaf parsley
This dish is designed to be cooked at the last minute, so have everything at the ready. The duck livers should be fresh if possible, as the frozen ones tend to go soft and don't plump up if frozen too long. (Sainsbury's now have duck livers.) Bring three pints of water and one tablespoon of salt to the boil. Meanwhile, slice the scal- lops and cut the livers into similar-sized pieces, being sure to remove any traces of greeny-yellow gall bladder. Put the fish stock, 3 fl oz of the cream and the wine into a wide-based pan and boil rapidly until reduced to 5 fl oz. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 4 minutes or until al dente. Drain, cover and keep warm. Melt a small knob of butter in a frying-pan over a high heat. Add the scallop slices and fry for 1 minute, turning them over after about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and keep warm — over the pasta would be a good place. Add the rest of the butter to the pan with the duck livers and fry for just 1 minute, turning them over as they colour. Set aside with the scallops. Add the reduced stock and wine mixture to the pan and bring to the boil, scraping up all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain through a sieve into a small pan. Stir in the rest of the cream, check the seasoning and heat through.
To serve, pile the pasta onto four warmed plates and arrange the scallops and duck livers on top. Pour the sauce around the pasta and serve garnished with sprigs of flat-leaf parsley if you wish. A perfect wine to go with this would be a chilled gewurz- traminer or a tokay Pinot Gris from Alsace. I can't tell you how good this is.
Buy the book Fruits of the Sea — it is well worth it. I have discovered that lobster thermidor was allegedly created on 24 Jan- uary 1894 at Chez Maire, a Paris restau- rant, to celebrate the opening of Sardou's play, Thermidor. The play flopped.
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