A little excitement

Press, 27 July 1981, Page 10

A little excitement

COOKING

with

Celia Timms

Lately I’ve been browsing through my recipe files looking for something with a little excitement or glamour — or just a difference. It’s a pastime with which I indulge myself in the idle moment! I’m passing on four recipes which I consider contain these features, plus the most important one — they are all extremely good to eat and I have used them on various occasions always with success. Use them when you feel able to take a little extra trouble, care, and time and I’m sure you will find them rewarding. Oysters Delmonico: This method for “Delmonico” I obtained from the head chef of a passenger ship when travelling between Britain and ; Ceylon years ago. I still think it excellent. It is for four persons, and you need: 4 rashers lean bacon 2 tablesooons butter

10 spring onions 1 medium green pepper 1 medium red pepper 24 oysters (fresh or frozen) Salt ■■“.-i . Cayenne pepper Lemon juice Buttered breadcrumbs Method: As deep-frozen oysters are so general these days, these can be used in this dish. Thaw them at room temperature before using. Dice the bacon after removing rind and fry over low heat in its own fat until crisp. . Melt butter in a saucepan, add finely chopped onions including most of the green, and the peppers seeded and cut into small squares. Saute for about five minutes, or until just tender. Season to taste with salt and a very little cayenne. Drain oysters and arrange six in each of four scallop shells or individual ovenproof dishes. Cover with the bacon and vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice and top with buttered crumbs. Bake at 180 to 190 C for 8 to 10 minutes.

Pate maison

A pate can be a very enjoyable starter for a dinner; it is also very acceptable for a light lunch and it can be served on a biscuit with pre-dinner drinks. This one is different from the more general Chicken Liver Pate in flavour because it contains a mixture of meats. You need, for a loaf tin:

450 g calves liver 450 g pork sausage meat 125 g liver sausage or

liverwurst 225 g cooked ham 225 g cooked ox tongue 1 small onion 4 thin rashers bacon 2 bard boiled eggs 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 2 bayleaves pinch of thyme Salt Cayenne pepper

Method: Using the finest blade on the mincer, or preferably a food procesor, put all of the meat, including the sausage meat and the onion, through it; blend

thoroughly ensuring that the mixture is very fine — almost paste-like. Season it fairly highly with salt and cayenne and add parsley and thyme. Grease a loaf pan w’ell or line it with foil. Line the prepared pan, bottom and sides with the bacon from which the rind has been removed and fill with half of meat mixture, pressing down well. Place shelled, hardboiled eggs end to end on top of meat and cover with remaining meat mixture. Smooth down top and lay two small bayleaves on top. Cover with wax paper or foil. Stand pan in a dish of water and bake at 180 C for m hours. Remove paper covering and bay leaves and cover with a cloth. Place a weight on top of cloth and chill in refrigerator overnight. Turn out of mould and serve thinly sliced. Dutch-style casserole of rabbit (Jachtschoter) This is a very different way of serving rabbit, and one that I strongly recommend. It requires a lot of time in preparation but this can ,be done over two days. To serve six you need: A large rabbit about 2kg 2 sprigs parsley 3 ribs celery with leaves 2 carrots 1 onion 6 peppercorns 2 teaspoons salt Additionally: 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 onions 2 large cooking apples (tart flavoured) 6 large potatoes Salt Pepper and nutmeg % cup Burgundy ’/z ,cup buttered breadcrumbs

Method: Soak rabbit in salted water and remove membranes arid any fat; cut into pieces and place in large saucepan with vegetables, salt and enough water to cover. Cook covered over low heat until meat is tender; about 2Va hours. When cool enough to handle, remove rabbit pieces and cut meat from bones. Strain stock and reserve. Melt 3 tablespoons butter or margarine in heavy-based pan and in this brown the two onions, sliced in rings. Remove onions from pan draining off excess fat, and reserve. Peel and core apples and cut in rings and saute in the fat remaining in pan, adding ad-

ditional butter or margarine if required. Boil the potatoes in their skins; peel and carefully slice. Line a casserole or ovenproof dish with sliced potato; cover with layer of cooked rabbit meat, a layer of cooked onion rings and a layer of apple rings. Repeat in this order until dish is full, seasoning each layer lightly with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Combine 1% cups strained rabbit stock with Ai cup Burgundy and pour over contents of dish. Sprinkle with buttered breadcrumbs. Bake at 180-190 C for % to 1 hour. Apples frangipane I think apples can always provide a delicious sweet course no matter how they are cooked, but this method is quite special and so is the result. Halved apples are poached in an apricot syrup then filled with frangipane pastry cream and served well chilled — very delicious! For 4 servings you need: 4 tablespoons apricot jam *2 cup water 1 dessertspoon grated orange rind 4 large tart flavoured apples Frangipane Cream: 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons flour 3 egg-yolks *2 cup hot milk *a cup cream 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons ground almonds Salt Method: Cook apricot jam with water and orange rind to form a syrup. Peel and core apples and cut into halves and poach in the syrup until they are just tender; remove from syrup and,chill, reserving remaining syrup, thinning with a little additional water if necessary. In a saucepan combine sugar, flour, and egg yolks with a pinch of salt. Stir in hot milk and the cream. and cook over simmering water. Stir in hot milk and the cream, and cook over simmering water (a double saucepan is required for this), stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, butter and ground almonds. When cold, fill apple halves with . the cream using a pastry bag and rose nozzle, if possible. Pour syrup in which they were poached over. They can be garnished with slivered toasted almonds.