Cold treats . ,
I.404*.J4114.—.40/L. m' WE HAVE now come to a lull after all the high days and holidays (both proper and improper) we have been enjoying, prob- ably a lull in the amazing May weather as well; June has been very wet for years which is sad, as heavy rain tends to drown the little partridges, who are sorely taxed for shelter in this destructive age, but, who knows? we may continue fair, fruitful and frightfUlly hot.. We did once upon a time. I had a sea trout last week: what a fine fish, better, than salmon, I think, and it comes in more suitable sizes for the aver- age meal. I had some left over, but not enough for a main course in itself, so I made this tomato ring, which, with the trout placed in the middle covered in leftover green mayonnaise, made an excel- lent and ravishing supper dish.
Bloody Mary aspic
1 litre (13/4 pints) tomato juice 4 tablespoons medium sherry or vodka 2 tablespoons lemon juice celery salt tabasco and worcester sauce 11/2 packets of aspic or gelatine (17g) 1/4 pint single cream
You need a 21/2 pint ring mould for this, but if you haven't got one handy, never mind, use a loaf tin or whatever; you will just have to put the leftovers around rather than in the centre. Pour about a quarter-pint of the tomato juice into a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then throw in the aspic or gelatine off the heat, stirring like mad until it is thoroughly dissolved. Never let it boil or will it self-destruct and not gel. When it is totally smooth pour it into the rest of the juice waiting in a jug or bowl. Season with the salt, about ten shakes of tabasco, worcester sauce to taste (1 dessert spoon?), the lemon juice, sherry or vodka and miX thoroughly; check the taste is to your liking. Drizzle the cream into the mixture just giving it the odd swirl, then pour the lot into the mould, which has been rinsed out in cold water. Chill in the refrigerator until set, which is speeded up if the juice was already chilled. Turn out the mould on to a large plate, fill the middle with whatever you fancy (salmon, chicken, tuna, etc) and cover with mayonnaise. You could sur- round it with cold broad beans dressed with olive oil and lemon: a pretty sight indeed. I have said one-and-a-half packets of aspic or gelatine as I found two full ones made it over-stiff, but if you prefer that
effect use the two.
Ages ago I gave a receipt for a crab pâté and the other day I turned it into a lighter mousse which the recipients liked very much, so here it is.
Crab mousse
llb crab meat, 1/2 white. 1/2 brown, fresh or frozen 4 large eggs 4 tablespoons cheese 4 tablespoons thick cream 6 oz unsalted butter 3 tablespoons medium sherry tabasco or cayenne pepper lemon juice
Separate the egg yolks from the whites into two bowls. Mix the sherry and the cream into the yolks and beat well. Place the butter and the crab meat into a good saucepan, cook gently until melted and blended together; pour in the egg, cream and sherry, continue cooking over a gentle heat stirring all the time with a wooden spoon (we don't want scrambled eggs, so be careful, use a heat mat) until thickened, add the parmesan cheese, stirring again until melted. Season with the lemon juice and tabasco to suit your taste. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, giving it the odd stir. When cool, whip the egg whites stiffly, then gently fold into the crab. Spoon into a soufflé dish and chill for about six hours. Serve with some hot brown toast.
Ices, strictly speaking, are water ice including neither eggs nor milk, but a marquise is an ice enriched with whipped cream at the end and is very fresh-tasting and delicious. With any luck we should have a bumper crop of strawberries to play around with, so I thought this would be good to have up your sleeves.
Marquise of strawberries Crush about four punnets of strawber- ries and either put them through a fine sieve or liquidise if you don't mind the pips. Sweeten to taste and add enough cold water to make a pint of liquid. Boil 8 oz of granulated sugar in 15 oz of water for five minutes. Cool the syrup and stir into the strawberry puree, add the juice of a lemon. Freeze in a plastic bcix, beating every half- hour to prevent crystals. When ready to serve stir in a pint of whipped cream and 8 fluid oz of kirsh or any of the fruit liqueurs. , Quite a treat.
freshly grated parmesan
Jennifer Paterson
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