Rejoice — it's pink

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LAST week we had Laetare Sunday, a joyful day in the middle of Lent when you can break your Lenten resolutions with impunity, eat drink and have a jolly time. The priests are vested in pink and the Pope blesses the Golden Rose. Mothering Sun- day is said to derive from the pre- Reformation custom of visiting the 'Mother Church' on that day, and children in service normally returned to their homes with a small gift for their mother. I thought it would be appropriate to construct a pink lunch for this or another joyous occasion. We shall start with: Salmon mousse

11/2 lb fresh, cooked salmon, boned and skinned 1/4 lb softened butter white of an egg 1/2 pint double cream

11/2 level 5m1 teaspoon of gelatine

2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 pint aspic made with white wine and

water, 112 & I/2

salt and pepper

Put the gelatine to soak in the lemon juice in a small bowl until spongy, then let it dissolve over hot water. Place the salmon in a food processor or blender, whizz until puréed, add the butter and whizz again. Stir in the white of egg, whizz once more. Pour this mixture into a chilled bowl sitting in a larger bowl with ice cubes at the bottom. Beat well with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Whip the cream to the soft peak stage. Add the dissolved gelatine, mixing thoroughly, then fold in the cream, season to taste. Pour half the aspic into a mould (a fish-shaped one if you have such a thing). Let it set in the refrigerator. Pack the mousse into the mould and cover with the rest of the aspic, chill for six hours until firm. Turn out onto a large plate, sprinkle with parsley and surround with lemon wedges. Serve with a remoulade or a ravigote sauce.

A dainty chicken dish to follow, very suitable for mother, I hope, the combina- tion of prawns and fowl producing an interesting flavour.

Pink poulet and prawns 1 medium chicken (31/2-4 lbs)

8 fluid oz dry white wine 8 fluid oz water about 36 prawns cooked in their shells 1/2 pint sour cream 2 teaspoons tomato purée 1 level tablespoon cornflour.

Peel the prawns, reserving their heads and shells. Bone the chicken and remove all skin. Cut the meat into generous pieces and season with salt . and fresh ground pepper. (You may prefer to buy chicken pieces to the equivalent of a whole bird.) Place the flesh, leg meat first, into a bowl that will fit into a saucepan for steaming. Put the bowl into the saucepan containing the wine, water and the prawn heads and shells, cover tightly and simmer gently for an hour until the flesh is cooked. Remove the chicken from the bowl into suitable serving dish, mix with the peeled prawns and keep warm. Strain the liquid from the saucepan into a smaller pan and add any juice left in the chicken's bowl. Bring to the boil and reduce to a syrup consistency. Check the seasoning then pour over the chicken and prawns. Put the sour cream and tomato purée into the pan, heat gently mixing the whole until just bubbling then add the cornflour dissolved in a little white wine to thicken, cook for a minute or two then stir into the chicken dish. Serve with plain boiled rice and bright green peas or beans.

For pudding we need something fresh and fruity after those two cream-laden courses. This can be done well beforehand, but try not to chill it.

Nectarines with raspberry syrup

6 large nectarines 8 oz granulated sugar 1 lb of raspberries, fresh or frozen 2 tablespoons of kirsch

Wash the nectarines then poach them in a pint of boiling water for four minutes. Remove the fruit from the water with a slotted spoon onto a cloth. Peel them carefully and return the skins to the poaching water. Place the nectarines in a beautiful glass bowl. Add the sugar and the raspberries to the water, bring to the boil and cook rapidly for ten minutes. Strain the syrup through a sieve lined with butter

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muslin into another saucepan. Cook the strained syrup for another five minutes until it has thickened and reduced slightly. Take off the heat and allow to get luke- warm, add the kirsch (or any suitable liqueur you may have) and pour over the nectarines. Exit mother crying happily.

Jennifer Paterson