WHEN visiting the sick in hospital or other places I
tend to take food rather than flowers or fruit, both of which will be there in abundance anyway. Something with a good strong taste like salami or a fine cheese livens up the diet a treat, and a jam jar full of proper vinaigrette helps the sad salad days. Earlier in the year poor Patrick Proctor had a terrible burst stomach ulcer. There he was, 'long, lean and lanky with nothing to eat', so I asked what he might possibly enjoy. Some asparagus mousse was his heart's desire. Here it is, and all the tastier for being tinned asparagus, with its stronger flavour.
Asparagus mousse
8 hard-boiled eggs 1 pint of aspic 2 tins of asparagus (15 oz approx.) '/2 pint of double cream Salt and pepper White wine and lemon juice
Buy the cut bits and tips of asparagus rather than the whole ones, they are cheaper but just as good. Drain the juice from them into a pint measuring jug. If not quite a pint, top up with water or white wine and a touch of lemon juice, and use this to make the aspic. Chop the hard- boiled eggs into fairly small pieces. Put the asparagus into a large bowl and mash with a fork. Whip the cream until it is slightly thickened and leaves a trail when dripping off the beater. Combine the cooled aspic with the eggs and the asparagus, then fold in the cream, season with fresh ground pepper and salt to taste, and maybe a touch more lemon juice. Pour into a soufflé dish or little bowls for travelling. Chill well until set. Serve from the dish, or you can turn it out and surround with cherry tomatoes, olives or what you will for prettiness.
From the pale green of the above receipt we go to the brilliant red of beetroots. I had a splendid Sunday lunch last week with the Scoones family. Francesca is an excel- lent cook with a helpful husband. We were having roast, glazed pork and she served these wonderful spiced beetroots with it, an absolutely stunning combination.
Gingered beetroots 11/2 lbs of boiled beetroot Fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon of ground ginger 2 teaspoons of cornflour 2 fluid oz of cider vinegar The juice and rind of an orange 4 oz of soft brown sugar 3 oz of butter
If you can find tiny beetroots get them, but any will do. You will just have to chop the larger ones into chunks. Grate the rind off the orange, and chop finely about an inch of fresh ginger. In a saucepan large enough to contain everything, place the sugar, ground ginger, cornflour, fresh gin- ger and orange rind and mix to a paste with the vinegar and the orange juice. Bring slowly to the boil then simmer for a minute or two until thickened and shiny. Add the butter in small pieces, stirring the while. Mix in the beetroot and cook until heated through. Check for seasoning, sprinkle with chopped parsely or coriander and serve; perfectly delicious. If, horrified by the terrible tales of travelling abroad, you have decided to go to some nice British resort for the hols, suggest you take a splendid new Penguin book with you both for reading and experi- mentation. It is English Seafood Cookery by Richard Stein, price £7.95. He has a seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall and deals with every fish and mollusc in our waters. He has some very exciting hors d'oeuvres including hot kipper salad with whisky or anchovy ice cream in puff pastry, but here is: Hake and potatoe pie
(with a garlic, parsley and breadcrumb crust) 1 lb of peeled potatoes 4 oz of butter
1 lb of skinned hake fillet
2 slices of good white bread 2 cloves of garlic Salt, pepper and parsley
Set your oven to Gas 6, F400°, C200°. Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Cook for two minutes in boiling salted water. Smear half the butter round an oven dish. In the dish place the drained potatoes and the hake cut into one inch slices. Season, and dot the rest of the butter on top. Cover the dish and bake for 15 minutes, basting twice. Put the bread, garlic and parsley with a little salt and pepper in a food processor and reduce to crumbs. Cover the fish and potatoes with the crumbs and bake uncovered for a further five minutes or until crisp.
Jennifer Paterson
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