Dining with Emma - Shrive yourself on Shrove Tuesday
published:
Thursday | January 17, 2008
Seafood crêpes in dijon bechamel sauce.- photos by Emma Sharp
What foods are you giving up for Lent this year? Will you be able to sustain sacrifices you wish to make? Few of us have the willpower to last 40 days without our culinary vices, but Shrove Tuesday is here to help us.
Traditionally, in the Roman Catholic Church, a priest shrives (hears a confession and grants sacramental absolution) to a person the day before Ash Wednesday. At home, people use up all the 'goodies' in the kitchen like eggs, flour, milk, butter, cream, chocolate, alcohol, etc. From this, stemmed the idea to make pancakes, or crêpes as the French call them, with fabulous fillings of both savoury and sweet temptations. And so came about the terms 'Shrove Tuesday', 'Mardi Gras' and 'Pancake Day'.
My indulgence took place last week with some friends. I raided the kitchen and depleted the decadent supplies along with perishables reaching their 'use by' date. I spent the afternoon preparing the sauces so that all I needed to do in the evening was to reheat them at the last minute. I made the pancake batter half an hour before supper, turned the oven on to warm and set the table. I cooked, filled and rolled the crêpes with my four savoury delights. After demolishing the lot, everyone declared the mushrooms the favourite. I snuck back into the kitchen to get the desserts while my guests polished off the rest of the white wine!
The night ended with chocolate stuck to the corner of all our mouths and we went to bed thanking Shrove Tuesday for helping us. After eating like that, it was going to be easy to give it all up for Lent!
Left: Spicy chocolate and banana crêpes with fresh cream. Right: Lime and orange crêpes with Cointreau.
Menu
Crêpes with fillings
Mushroom with thyme and whiskey cream
Zucchini with vodka tomato
Nutmeg callaloo with cheesy yoghurt
Seafood in dijon bechamel sauce
Spicy chocolate and banana
Lime and orange with Cointreau.
Crêpes
(Makes 10) 4oz flour
Pinch salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
290 ml milk
1 tbsp oil
Oil for cooking
METHOD
1.
Sift flour with salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
2.
Put the egg and yolk with a little milk in the well.
3.
Mix the egg and milk, drawing in the flour from the sides. When it reaches the consistency of thick cream, beat well and stir in the oil.
4.
Add the remaining milk.
Cover and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5.
Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan and place over high heat.
6.
Pour in 1 tbsp of batter and swirl until evenly spread across the bottom.
7.
Place over heat for a minute, use a palette knife and your fingers to turn the crêpe over and cook for 30 seconds.
8.
Turn out on to a plate. Keep warm in a low heat oven. Layer crêpes between kitchen paper until ready to use.
Mushrooms with Thyme and Whiskey Cream
(Makes 4-5)
2oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
10 oz mushrooms, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
8fl oz heavy cream
2tbsp whiskey
Salt and black pepper
METHOD
1.
Heat butter in a pan over low heat, add onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
2.
Add mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes.
3.
Add cream, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until liquid is reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper.
4.
Pour in the whiskey and boil gently for a couple minutes. Place a crêpe on a plate with 2tbsp of mushroom and mix along the middle.
5.
Roll crepe and repeat. Pour a little sauce over the top and serve with thyme sprigs.
Spicy Chocolate and Banana
(Makes 4-5)
1oz butter
2oz unsweetened chocolate
Pinch of dried scotch bonnet seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar
4tbsp heavy cream, plus extra
4 bananas, sliced
METHOD
1.
Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir with a spatula until melted.
2.
Add scotch bonnet seeds and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.
3.
Pour in cream and mix well.
4.
Place a crêpe on a plate, spread chocolate down the middle, add banana slices and roll crêpe. Pour a
