3 Sweet somethings `THEY are destined to be lost. They
make foods into their God and they are proudest of something they should think shameful.' Words from last Sunday's epistle. Wow! that's telling us. Foodies beware. The only comfort is that it was written by St Paul, that notorious old grouch. That being said let's get on with the business.
I had some cream and mushrooms going bad in the refrigerator and also some of those disgusting-looking packets of frozen New Zealand lambs' sweetbreads found in Sainsbury's, which are incredibly cheap. I had never tried them so I did and the results according to the uncle were the best he'd ever tasted. I cooked them by way of Madam Grigson's account of Mr Wood- house's dish in Emma though those would have been lovely fresh calves' sweetbreads, which now cost a fortune if you can find them.
Fricassee of sweetbreads
4 packs of frozen sweetbreads (about 2 lbs) 1 medium onion 2 cloves of garlic 8 oz button mushrooms 2 oz butter 2 heaped desert spoons of plain flour 18 fluid oz. of good chicken or veal stock 10 oz of cream (Half can be sour) Juice and grated peel of one lemon Salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Soak the sweetbreads in cold water until thawed, then change the water, salt it and leave them to soak for an hour or two. Drain, put in a saucepan, just cover with cold water and the juice of a lemon, bring gently to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Drain again and plunge into cold water. They now look more terrible than ever; but do not despair, continue with a brave heart. Remove any obvious hard gristly skin (there wasn't much; they must very kindly have done it in New Zealand.) Place the sweetbreads between two plates with a weight on top and chill in the refrigerator. This can all be done the day before if you like. Now chop the onion and garlic quite finely and sauté gently until soft, add the little mushrooms whole stir- ring them into the onions for a minute; sprinkle in the flour, cook until thoroughly amalgamated with the rest then slowly add the warmed stock and let it simmer for 15 minutes; season with ground pepper, salt, nutmeg and the grated lemon peel; pour in the cream, mix well. Now add the sweet- breads and continue simmering for another half-hour, giving the odd stir every now . and then. Serve with plain rice and petits pois or french beans. I thought you might like a festive pig!' ding for Easter instead of simnel cake. This is a cheese cake made for a dear friend, Martin Harris, years ago. He is a good Jewish boy and this is nothing like his mother use to make.
Martin Harris pudding 6 digestive biscuits 8 ginger nuts 4 oz of unsalted butter 1 tablespoon of demerara sugar 1 lb of curd cheese 12 oz of caster sugar 3 large eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence (not fla- vouring)
1 pint of soured cream
You need a baking tin with a detachable bottom measuring 81h" across and 2° 111 height. Oil it lightly. Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or some such suitable device until reduced to crumbs. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the crumbs, mixing well, add the demerara, sugar. Press into the base of the tin evenly with the aid of a jam-jar. Beat the curd cheese and four ounces of the sugar together, then still beating add the eggs one at a time and finally one teaspoon of the vanilla essence. Pour into the biscuit base and bake in the middle of a preheated oven at Gas 5, F375°, C190° for 20 minutes. Remove to cool for half an hour. Mix the soured cream, two ounces of sugar and the other teaspoon of vanilla essence in a bowl and pour on top of the cooled cheese cake. Turn the over up to Gas, F400°, C200°, and bake for a further ten minutes. Remove, cool, then refrigerate for a good six hours. When thoroughly chilled scatter the re- maining six ounces of sugar evenly over the top. Preheat the grill for about five ow nutes, then place the pudding underneath.. Watch it like a hawk and keep turning until you achieve a beautiful tortoiseshell bride. To make it truly paschal you could deco- rate with those ravishing tiny little sugared eggs found on the simnel cakes. When the bride has cooled remove the cheese cake carefully from the tin and serve flourish. If you happen to have one those tins hinged at the side as well as having a detachable bottom, so much the better and easier. with a.
Jennifer Paterson
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