5 Kumquats 3 Bay leaves 9 Whole cloves; bruised 3/4 pt Stock, pref. from tongue 1 lg Orange (juice only) 2 ts Lemon juice 1 tb Tarragon vinegar 3/4 oz Butter 2 tb Flour Salt and pepper 4 tb Thick cream
FOR PARSLEY & CAPER SAUCE:
1 Garlic clove 1 oz Parsely; chopped 1/2 oz Chives 1 1/2 oz Capers 1 sm Lemon; juice & zest only 8 fl Oil Black pepper FOR SPICED KUMQUAT SAUCE: Slice and remove the pips from the kumquats. Put them into a pan with the bay leaves, cloves, stock, orange juice, lemon juice and tarragon vinegar. Bring very slowly to the boil. Add a little salt and pepper, cover and set aside for 20 minutes to infuse. Strain, reserving the kumquats, liquid and spices separately. Make a smooth sauce with the butter, flour and cooking liquid. Return spices to the pan and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent sticking and to stop a skin from forming. By the end of this time, the sauce should be the consistency of cream; if necessary boil it hard for 2-3 minutes to reduce and thicken it a little. Strain to extract the spices, stir in the cream, then the kumquats. Reheat gently, adding a few pinches of ground cloves, more lemon juice and other seasonings to taste. FOR PARSLEY & CAPER SAUCE: Crush the garlic clove with a little salt. Then process it briefly with the chopped parsley, chives and capers. Add the lemon juice and zest, and the oil and whizz again until the mixture is reduced to a thickened fragrant green puree. Add a coarse grinding of black pepper and leave it for 1 hour or so to allow the flavours to blend. Source: Philippa Davenport in "Country Living" (British), December 1988. Typed for you by Karen Mintzias