Meat aux Trois Épices

The National Library celebrated what would have been Patrick White’s 100th birthday on 28 May, but it was the hundreds of Library guests on the day who received the presents. ABC 666 presenter Genevieve Jacobs hosted a live broadcast in the Library Foyer with some very special guests including actress Kate Fitzpatrick and photographer William Yang who shared their memories of White with guests and listeners.

No birthday is complete without party food and Steve Scott and Rachel Romney-Brown from bookplate, the National Library’s award-winning cafe, served up three of White’s recipes with a modern touch.  They were devoured faster than you could say Voss.

Genevieve interviews Rachel and Steve from bookplate

Genevieve interviews Rachel and Steve about recreating Patrick's recipes

So unlike our previous posts, this week’s recipe has the distinction of being prepared by a professional chef.  Steve Scott is the Executive Chef at bookplate but his career includes stints at the Savoy in London (something I’m sure Patrick would have approved of) and Chateau Lake Louise in Canada (fantastic scenery!)

Although Steve really wanted to have a go at last week’s Haloumi Soufflé, it wasn’t a recipe particularly suited to a horde of hungry birthday party guests.  So instead he settled for Carrot Mould, Meat aux Trois Épices and the previously posted Zabaglione Gritti  -something he used to make as a first year apprentice.

The birthday party food

The fabulous food, here now but gone in seconds!

Meat aux Trois Épices (Meat with three spices)
Sauce for chicken veal or turkey fillets. Any insipid meats.

6 spring onions
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cumin
½ oz flour
½ oz butter
1 glass white wine
½ pint chicken stock
3 tbsp cream

Chop up spring onions. Cook for few mins in butter. Add spices with flour, stir and cook for 2 mins. Add wine and stock. Boil for 5 mins. Dip fillets in flour and fry lightly in butter. Add sauce, bubble up, and add cream.

What’s the verdict?
Steve reckons this is a pretty typical 70′s recipe, with probably more flour than is necessary if you stick to the original version.  His advice would be to leave the flour out of one half of the recipe (either put flour in sauce or flour the chicken before frying but definitely don’t do both!)  He diced and poached four chicken breasts and then mixed them with the sauce and filled about 50 oyster cases to make the bite sized party morsels which were snapped up in seconds.

Kate Fitzpatrick cutting birthday cake

Kate Fitzpatrick cuts the birthday cake

Rating: