High days and holy days
SPY WEDNESDAY, the day before Maun- dy Thursday, was the day when Judas decid- ed to put his betrayal of Jesus into practice by informing against Him to the high priests. It was a bad decision for Judas, but it did start off the means of our redemption. Maundy Thursday is the one day in Lent when the Church puts aside, momentarily, her sorrow. The ministers wear white festal vestments, the 'Gloria' is sung and the bells are rung — they are then silent until the `Gloria' is sung on Easter Eve. Good Friday, rather a misnomer I always feel, is one of two remaining fasting and abstinence days, so fish is obviously a sensible option on this day. I have just been sent a pretty little book com- piled by Lesley Chamberlain, who has been travelling in and writing about Russia for over 20 years, so I'm sure her fish pie is the real Russian McCoy.
Kulebyaka
For the dough:
1/2 teaspoon dried yeast 1/2 pint warm milk
1 teaspoon sugar 1 lb 5 oz strong flour pinch of salt 2 oz butter 2 egg yolks First filling: 14 oz halibut or turbot fillet 1 tablespoon sunflower oil 2 hard-boiled eggs 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon sour cream 4 fluid oz milk 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper Second filling: 1 cup rice (= 8 fluid oz measure) 1 tablespoon sunflower or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt Added filling:
10 oz halibut or turbot fillet beaten egg to brush pastry
Pike used to be used for this dish so, if you happen to find one, you can use it. Salmon could also be used instead. To make the dough, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk. Add the flour, salt, butter and eggs. Knead into a smooth dough. Cover with an oiled plastic bag and leave to rise in a warm place.
Cook the rice in salted, boiling water until just tender. Drain well and diy off a little in a warm oven. Remove from oven and pour the oil over. Combine all the ingredi- ents for the first filling, except the hard- boiled eggs, and whizz together in a proces- sor, then add the eggs, roughly chopped or you can liquidise the onion and liquid ingredients, then add the rest, merely chop- ped for a rougher texture. Stir the rice and its oil together and mix into the fish concoction. Roll out the risen dough on a floured surface into an oval shape, about 14 inches long or to fit your baking sheet, which, if it is metal, should be lined with baking foil. The dough should be about a finger thick. Lay it on the baking sheet. Place half the fish and rice mix- ture in a layer on the dough, then half the fil- leted fish, then the rest of the rice mixture, then the rest of the fish. Lift the short ends of the kulebyaka towards the top of the pie, raise the two long sides and secure in a top seam. Leave to rise for half an hour in a warm place. Prick the surface in several places with a fork, brush with the beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at Gas 4, 350F, 180C, for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to Gas 3, 325F, 160C, for a further ten min- utes. The pie is done when a skewer emerges clean. The pastry should be crisp and golden, with a biscuity texture.
If you are surrounded by very good chocolate, you could make this outrageous cake for Easter. It comes from the River Café via the Chocolate Club.
Chocolate nemesis
11/2 lbs Valrhona Guanaja Noire (70 per cent) chocolate 10 whole eggs 1 lb 5 oz caster sugar 1 lb unsalted butter, softened
Preheat the oven to Gas 3, 325F, 160C. Line a 12 x 2 inch cake tin with greaseproof paper, then grease and flour it. Beat the eggs with a third of the sugar until the vol- ume quadruples — this will take at least ten minutes in an electric mixer. Heat the rest of the sugar in a small pan with 8 fluid oz of water, until the sugar has dissolved into a syrup. Do this gently, stirring now and then. Add the chocolate and the butter to the syrup and stir to combine. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Add the warm syrup to the eggs and continue to beat rather more gently until completely combined — 20 seconds, no more. Pour into the cake tin and place this in a roasting tin of hot water. It is essential, if the cake is to cook evenly, that the water comes up to the rim of the cake tin, so I should add the water in situ in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until set. Test by placing the flat of your hand gently on the surface. Leave to cool before turning out. Nice and easy — just very rich. A very happy Easter to all.
Jennifer Paterson
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