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By Root 847 0

of the Somme towards her trial and death at Rouen. We looked beyond the exquisite iron cross on the sea wall, over the wide estuary, grey now at low tide, and felt the cold sucking of her feet in the mud and seaweed, as the party forded the crossing to St Valéry. The Somme is a bitter enough river in spring and autumn; but in December?

Then in Rouen, pursuing the best source of local food, being told again and again ‘La Couronne’, by a policeman, a hotel-keeper and an anglophile bookshop-owner, we passed another tablet – ‘Ah Rouen, Rouen, I had never thought you would be my tomb’ – and we felt the prickings of historic conscience. But the head waiter, the liveliest of his breed, came and placed before us some of the most delicious scallops we had ever eaten. We began to feel at peace in that wooden medieval room. ‘Gin’s the secret,’ said the head waiter as he glided by.

Serves 4

puff pastry (optional, see recipe)

12 scallops

seasoned flour

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

175 ml (6 fl oz) crème fraîche

4 tablespoons Gordon’s gin

salt, pepper

lemon juice

chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to gas 8, 230 °C (450 °F).

Roll out the pastry thinly. Cut into 4 squares. Rub the back of 4 deep scallop shells with a butter paper (or brush with vegetable oil). Fit the pastry over the back of the shells, pressing it over the rims to keep it from shrinking. Bake for 15 minutes, pastry side up, or until nicely browned. Cut round the edges, so that the shell can be separated. If the inside of the pastry shells is steamy, put them back into the oven for a minute or two to dry out. Keep them warm.

If you have no puff pastry to hand, use the scallop shell themselves as containers, or small soufflé dishes.

Slice the scallops across into 2 discs each. Turn them in seasoned flour. Cook them in butter and oil, turning them once. Meanwhile heat the cream and reduce it slightly. When the scallops are done, warm the gin, set it alight and pour it over the scallops in their pan. Add salt, pepper and the boiling cream; cook for a few seconds and add a little lemon juice to taste.

Place the scallops in their shells or pots, pour the sauce over them, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve very hot.

NOTE Lobster can be cooked in this way, too. See p. 217.

CURRIED SCALLOPS

The Newburg recipe (p. 344) is easily adapted to other seasonings. One of the most popular is curry powder, which is used in an entirely French way. Most delicious.

For the brandy and Madeira in the Newburg recipe, substitute the white wine cooking stock, reduced by boiling to 125 ml (4 fl oz). When the butter is added to the scallops, put in 2 teaspoons of curry powder.

When you serve the scallops, a light scatter of chopped green coriander of chervil goes harmoniously with the sauce.

HANNAH GLASSE’S STEWED SCALLOPS

A slightly adapted version of a recipe from The Art of Cooking, published in 1747. Over 200 years later, it is still a good way of cooking scallops. The seasoning of Seville orange juice is unusual and piquant.

Serves 6

150 ml (5 fl oz) dry white wine

150 ml (5 fl oz) water

1 scant tablespoon white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon mace

2 cloves

salt, pepper

18 scallops

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon plain flour

juice of 1 Seville orange

Put wine, water, vinegar, mace and cloves into a pan. Bring them to the boil, and simmer covered for 5 or 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and judge whether or not the spices should be increased. Meanwhile, slice the whies of the scallops in half across, then slide them into the liquid with the corals and cook gently for 4–5 minutes. They should not be overcooked.

Pour off the liquor and measure it: if there is more than 300 ml (10 fl oz), boil it down. Mash butter and flour together, then add to the simmering liquid in smallish pieces, stirring them in. This will thicken the sauce. Finally, season with Seville orange juice, and more salt and pepper if required. Pour over the scallops and serve at once.