The Decadent Cookbook (27 page)

For the dough:

4
CUPS
MILK

1½
CUPS
OF
SEMOLINA
GRANULES

1 ¼
CUPS
SUGAR

4
EGGS

½
VANILLA
POD

2
CUPS
WHOLE
SHELLED
PISTACHIOS

1
CUP
FLOUR

2
EGGS
BEATEN
UNTIL
FLUFFY

V
EGETABLE
OIL

½
CUP
ICING
SUGAR

1
TEASPOON
GROUND
CINNAMON

Blancmange recipe for Chancellors’ Buttocks.

B
IANCOMANGIARE
PUDDING

¾
CUP
OF
CORNFLOUR

5
CUPS
OF
MILK

1
CUP
OF
SUGAR

V
ANILLA
P
OD

Add the cornflour to a small quantity of milk in a bowl. Make sure the cornflour is dissolved and free of lumps before pouring it into a saucepan with the rest of the milk, the sugar and the vanilla pod. Cook gently, not allowing the milk to boil and stirring constantly, until thick. Remove the vanilla and pour out into a large plate to cool.

For the dough, put the milk, semolina, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into a saucepan. Mix well and heat over a low flame, stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture is very thick and comes away from the side of the pan. Leave it to cool.

Toast the pistachios in a warm oven for 15 minutes and chop very fine.

Remove vanilla pod from dough and stir in pistachios. Shape this into small, buttock-shaped forms about the size of your palm. Dip them in flour and turn them in beaten egg. Put ¼ inch of oil into a pan and heat. Fry the ‘buttocks’ in the oil, turning once until delicately browned on each side. Drain on kitchen towel.

Cut the blancmange into 2 in. squares. Split the buttocks like a bun and insert a piece of blancmange into each. Close shut, roll in ground sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon.

The Marquis de Sade might also have enjoyed this sweet Spanish dish. The name means ‘Gipsy’s arm’.

BUTTER

4
EGGS

6
OZ
SUGAR

2
OZ
SELF-RAISING
FLOUR

WHIPPED
CREAM

JAM

BUTTER
CREAM
OR
COFFEE-FLAVOURED
CUSTARD

Pre-heat oven to gas mark 5, 375º F.

Grease a large baking tin with butter and dust it with flour. Whisk the eggs and sugar together thoroughly then fold them into the sieved flour. Pour the mixture into a tin and bake in the oven until the sponge is cooked - about 15 minutes. Turn out onto a large sheet of paper sprinkled with icing sugar. Cover it with another piece of paper and roll it up while it is still warm. This helps the roll to keep its shape. Leave it for a few minutes then unroll it and add the coffee custard. Roll it up again and sprinkle the outside with icing sugar, and maybe even a tattoo:
‘J’adore ma belle-mère’
in cochineal or indigo…

Turkish cuisine has a number of suggestive dishes. Here are a few for Mme de Sade’s basket.

1
LB
K
ADAYIF
PASTRY

(T
HIS
IS
SIMILAR
TO
FILO
PASTRY
EXCEPT
THAT
IT
IS
SHREDDED
)

8
OZ
UNSALTED
BUTTER

12
WALNUT
HALVES

3
OZ
ALMONDS
FINELY
CHOPPED

For the syrup:

1
LB
10
OZ
SUGAR

450
ML
WATER

1
TABLESPOON
LEMON
JUICE

Preheat the oven to 180º C (350ºF) gas mark 4.

It is important to make the Kadayif shreds as fine as possible, which can be done by passing the pastry through a mincer. Drop the pastry into a bowl and then pour most of the melted butter over the top. Mix with your hands until the pastry shreds are covered in the butter.

Next, take a soup ladle (or something of an equivalent shape and size) and lightly butter the inside of it. Put a walnut half at the bottom of the ladle (this will form the nipple), then fill the ladle with shredded pastry and pack it down. Make a hole with your finger in the centre of the pastry, large enough to take 2 teaspoons of chopped nuts. Press the nuts in. Add a little more pastry to act as a plug over the nuts and press down hard to make the pastry firm and solid. Turn the pastry out into your hand and place it on a lightly buttered baking tray. When you have used up all the ingredients in this way, bake the pastries for 40 minutes.

To make the syrup, place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

When the pastries are cooked, bring the syrup back to the boil and then spoon some over each one. Set aside to cool. They can be serve on their own or with cream.

For the syrup:

1
LB
SUGAR

5
ML
LEMON
JUICE

450
ML
WATER

For the dough:

2
OZ
BUTTER

¹
/
₂
TEASPOON SALT

8
OZ
SIFTED
PLAIN
FLOUR

3
EGGS

OIL
FOR
FRYING

1
TEASPOON
OF
ALMOND
ESSENCE

Garnish:

150
ML
DOUBLE
CREAM
WHIPPED

To make the syrup, put the sugar, lemon juice and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for ten minutes then put to one side and allow to cool.

Place the butter and 300 ml of water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time until the butter melts. Remove from the heat, add the salt and flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended. Make a well in the centre of the dough and add the eggs, one at a time. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth, shiny and comes away from the side of the pan.

Lightly oil your hands and break off a piece of dough about the size of an apricot. Roll it between your palms to form a ball. Place on an oiled baking sheet. Carry on until all the dough is used up. Make sure that the balls are well spaced out on the sheet.

Pour 2 inches of oil into the bottom of a large frying pan and heat.

Flatten a few of the balls a little then, after you have dipped your finger in the almond essence, press it into the dough making a depression of about ½ inch. Hence the name of the dish. Place several into the gently sizzling oil fry for 8 minutes on one side before turning and frying for 8 minutes on the other side. The fritters should end up golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on some kitchen towel before dropping into the syrup. Turn gently to coat the fritter then leave it to steep for about five minutes. Transfer to a serving dish using a slotted spoon.

Do not let the oil get too hot while you are preparing some more dough balls for frying. Before serving, put a teaspoon of whipped cream into the centre of each fritter.

Alternatively, you can change the shape of the pastries. After you have fashioned the dough into balls, you can flatten them and fold them in two, turning them into
‘Beauty’s Lips’.

1½
LB
OF
TWICE
MINCED
LAMB

1
LARGE
ONION

7
OZ
COOKED
RICE

45
ML.
GRATED
WHITE
CHEESE

1
EGG

1
OZ
FLOUR

1½
TEASPOONS
OF
SALT

1 ½
TEASPOONS
BLACK
PEPPER

1 ½
TEASPOONS
GROUND
CUMIN

O
IL
FOR
FRYING

1 - 2
BEATEN
EGGS

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead for several minutes until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Keeping your hands damp, take a walnut sized lump and roll it into a ball. Flatten it gently by pressing it between your palms. Place on a baking tray and prepare the remaining meat mixture in the same way.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Dip a few of the meatballs at a time in beaten egg and fry, turning occasionally, until cooked through and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, arrange on a serving dish and keep warm while you cook the remaining ones in the same way.