ST PETER’S FISH (tilapia) is still caught and served around Lake Galilee. My recipe for St Peter’s spelt salad uses our more indigenous sardine, and spelt, one of the new wonderfoods. St Peter is celebrated at the end of June, and this could be a dish for ordination parties.
5 sardines, descaled and filleted
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon white wine/cider vinegar
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
200g (7 oz) spelt
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon pitted black olives
2 tablespoons olive oil
150g (5 oz) cherry tomatoes
120g (4 oz) fine green beans
handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
Chop the sardines and place in a non-metallic bowl with the shallots, garlic clove (still whole), vinegar, lemon zest and juice, and the dried herbs. Twist over a little black pepper, and ensure that everything is well combined. Leave this aside for at least half an hour.
Put the spelt into a large saucepan, cover it with three times the amount of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Once cooked, set it aside to cool before draining. Blanch the beans: boil them for two minutes, drain, and cover with cold water. Mix the capers, olives, and oil in with the spelt, then halve the tomatoes and chop the beans, throwing these in, too. Remove the garlic from the fish mix, and stir this into the spelt assembly. Top with the chopped parsley shortly before serving.
Strawberries are delicious and plentiful at this time of year. This recipe for a White chocolate and strawberry soufflé gives options: bake it, or have it as a mousse. White and red are ordination colours; so this is more Petertide-friendly cooking.
400g punnet (or 1 lb) strawberries
180g (6 oz) white chocolate
2 eggs, separated, plus 2 more yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
60g (2 oz) caster sugar
strawberry jam
Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas 7 and butter 4-6 ramekins. Chop the strawberries and divide them between the ramekins. Gently melt the chocolate, then, off the heat, beat in two of the egg yolks and the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, sprinkle over the sugar, and beat until the mixture becomes thick. Fold the egg-white mixture into the chocolate mixture in two batches. Pour this over the strawberries, and place in the oven on a baking sheet for 12 minutes maximum, until risen with some crust. Immediately, make a hole in the top of each, put in a spoonful of strawberry jam, and serve.
For the mousse, buttering and jamming are not required. Just follow the steps above, and chill it for at least six hours.
