Mishmash and whimwham

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I WONDER if St Joan of Arc could give a helping hand to all this nonsense about beef in France; it is her feast on 30 May, together with another little saint, Petronil- la, who was put to death when she refused to many a nobleman named Flaccus — I don't blame her. Petronilla preferred to devote her life to her Saviour and was mar- tyred for her faith. Legend has it that she was the daughter of St Peter. In the ceme- tery of Domitilla, Rome, there is a fresco dating from the 4th century which shows the poor lass about to be killed.

This month we have been filming around Cirencester, first in the Prince of Wales's farms around Highgrove and then in a vast girls' school, resembling Mentmore, with stunning grounds. Before all this our refrig- erator broke down, so with days to wait before the mechanic could come, I devised a way of saving some fine great mushrooms that were on the turn. I made them into a soufflé. I've never seen a mushroom souf- flé, let alone eaten one, but it was rather good if a slightly sinister colour. Try it.

Mushroom soufflé

4 of those huge field mushrooms 4 of those huge field mushrooms 1 medium-sized onion 1 clove garlic 2 whole eggs 2 extra whites of egg 2 tablespoons plain flour 2oz butter

1/4 pint milk, warmed

3 fluid oz thick cream salt, pepper and nutmeg gruyere or parmesan cheese

Chop the mushrooms, onion and garlic finely. Melt the butter in a saucepan large enough to take all the ingredients, and stew the chopped vegetables together with the lid on until soft and all the juices are run- ning. Season well with salt, freshly ground pepper and a good scraping of nutmeg. Stir in the flour and cook gently for a minute, turning the mixture. Add the warmed milk little by little, until you have a thick sauce, stirring all the time, then add the cream. Remove from the heat and add the well- beaten egg yolks, mix together and leave to cool. Whisk the egg whites (I always have some whites in little pots in the freezer left over from something like mayonnaise) until they stand in peaks. Stir a couple of table- spoons of the whites into the mushroom mixture, then fold in the rest. Turn into a well-buttered soufflé dish and sprinkle with about two tablespoons of the grated cheese. Put the dish in a baking tin filled with enough water to come up half way and place in the centre of a pre-heated oven at Gas 7, 440F, 220C, for 30 minutes. Don't peek, but serve immediately. Hope you enjoy.

Roxy Beaujolais is the splendid lady who presides over the Three Greyhounds pub in Greek Street, Soho. She has just produced her book of simple, popular pub food, Home from the Inn Contented, well worth £9.99 — good robust food and interesting snacks from all over. This is hers:

Cider with pork

4 oz butter 2 lbs pork, trimmed of fat and cubed 4 shallots, peeled but left whole 4 celery sticks, diced 2 Bramley apples, cored, peeled and chopped 1 tablespoon juniper berries salt and pepper

13/4 pints of cider 31/2 fluid oz single cream (optional) In a heavy-based pan with a lid, melt the butter over a moderate heat and roll the cubes of pork and the shallots in it, until the pork changes colour on all sides, slight- ly browned. Add the celery, apples, juniper berries (I would crush these), season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté for a few moments. Pour in enough cider to cover the ingredients. Put the lid on the pan and simmer gently for two hours. When ready, if you are using the cream, reduce the stewing liquid if neces- sary and stir in the cream just before serv- ing. Check the seasoning. Eat with 12oz of tagliatelle boiled until just al dente, drain and toss in 11/2 oz butter and a tablespoon of poppy seeds, season to taste and serve with the pork.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb, time for rhubarb, I love it.

Rhubarb whimwham

1 lb rhubarb, cut into small dice 2 glasses sweet sherry 2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly

3/4 pint whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

1 tablespoon caster sugar 18 sponge fingers, broken into quarters juice of 1 orange 1 sherry glass brandy 1 egg white, whipped to soft peaks

Cook the rhubarb with the redcurrant jelly and orange juice until just tender. Place in a dainty dish, cool, pour on the sherry and brandy. Mix in the sponge fin- gers gently. Add sugar to the egg-white whip, fold into the cream and cover the rhubarb with it. Sprinkle with 3 oz chopped, unblanched almonds fried in 1 oz butter and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar until golden; then let it cool.

Jennifer Paterson