Religious relish — game and fish

AS WELL as the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist this week we have had St Augustine of Hippo and his mother St Mon- ica, who had a hard time with her wayward son until he turned over a new leaf under the influence of St Ambrose. The last day of the month gives us St Raymond Nonnatus, so nicknamed because he was delivered by Caesarean section — nonnatus being Latin for 'not born', like the fellow in Macbeth.

The game season is with us again, so I thought you would like some ideas for pheasant, when they arrive. This receipt is based on the Normandy pheasant dish, with the addition of garlic to give it a kick.

Garlic pheasant

brace of pheasant garlic — 1 bulb per person, plus 4 for a cock, or 3 for a hen in pint double cream 4 oz butter 2 small glasses calvados salt and pepper

Peel 7 of the garlic cloves and put inside the birds with a little of the butter, salt and pepper. Truss the birds and smear with the remaining butter. Roast in a preheated moderate oven, Gas 4, 350F, 180C, basting occasionally. Meanwhile, make a stock with the neck and giblets and a little onion, reducing it to a few tablespoons. Separate the rest of the garlic cloves but leave unpeeled, add to the birds after half an hour's cooking, and stir well into the basting juices. When the birds are cooked, about another half-hour, remove from the oven and pour the warmed calvados over them and light it. When the flames have subsided, transfer the pheasants and roasted garlic cloves to a warmed serving dish and keep warm. Add the cream and the reduced stock to the roasting pan, put over a moder- ate heat until it starts bubbling. If necessary, reduce a little more and season to taste. Pour over the birds or serve separately. The whole roast garlic cloves are just picked up

and sucked like grapes. They are soft and delicious but messy. A finger-bowl would not come amiss. My thanks to Mrs Christo- pher Thomasson of Boothby Graffoe.

Here is a way to give farmed salmon an exotic flavour.

Cardamom steamed salmon on bean salad

112 lb salmon fillet 1 courgette, sliced 1 tablespoon butter

For fish seasoning: 3 tablespoons lemon juice 6 tablespoons olive oil

1 to teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground star anise to teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For the salad:

to lb green beans 1/2 lb lettuce hearts

3 tablespoons shredded basil 1 tablespoon lemon balm or mint

Skin the salmon and chop into cubes. Combine the fish seasoning and mix half of this mixture with the salmon. Reserve the other half for the salad. Sauté the courgette slices in the butter for 2-3 minutes, add the fish mixture, cover and steam over a low heat for 2 minutes. Make sure the fish is not overcooked. Cut the beans into 3-inch strips and boil in another pan. When still hot, mix the lettuce hearts with the beans, the basil and the lemon balm. Top with the salmon, pour over the remaining marinade and decorate with some more shredded basil. A good little supper dish. The Community of the Sisters of the Church is an international Anglican com- munity founded in Kilburn in 1870. They have St Michael's Convent on Ham Com- mon which contains a large organic garden. They are producing a cookbook called Nourish Body, Nurture Soul — keep a look- out for it. This is one of their relishes which is very popular and makes an excellent accompaniment to hot and cold meat dish- es or can be served with curries instead of chutney.

Indian relish

12 green tomatoes 12 tart apples 3 large onions 5 cups vinegar 5 cups sugar 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon salt

Peel and core the apples, peel the onions. Put the tomatoes, apples and onions through a mincer or processor or chop until very fine. Boil all the rest of the ingredients together, add the chopped fruit and vegetables and cook at a moderate temperature for half an hour. Pack the rel- ish into clean, hot, sterile jars and seal. This quantity should make about 4 quarts.

Jennifer Paterson