FEAST OF ST ROCH -RECIPES- 16th AUGUST

FEAST OF ST ROCH, 

PATRON SAINT OF DOGS, DOG OWNERS - INVOKED AGAINST PLAGUES AND EPIDEMICS:

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST

RECIPES: TARTE TARTIN A LA TOMATE

ST ROCH’S FINGERS

St Roch is opportune in this time of Corona virus, for it is said that he who “calleth meekly” to St Roch will not be hurt by any pestilence. He was traditionally invoked against the plague for reasons that will become apparent.

I have taken his story from the Feast Day Cookbook by Katherine Burton and Helmut Ripperger, (David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1951) and Gretchen Filz, “The Story of St Roch Patron Saint of Dogs and Dog Lovers”; getfed.com.

He was born in France in the thirteenth century of a well-to-do family in Montpellier, but is particularly venerated in Italy, (Saint Rocco). Orphaned when young, he distributed all his inheritance to the poor, handed over the governance of the city to his uncle and became a mendicant pilgrim, donning the coarse habit of a Franciscan. He embarked upon a pilgrimage to Rome and stopped at hospitals on the way in order to take care of those suffering from the plague, legend saying that he cured many simply by making the sign of the Cross over them. He continued to Rome and kept healing people along the way. On his return he was stricken with the plague which erupted in a wound on his leg – hence the manner in which he is portrayed. Alone, he lay dying of hunger in a forest near Piacenza, when there came into his life a faithful companion - a dog which licked his wounds and brought him a piece of bread each day which he stole from his master.

After some time, the master became suspicious and followed the dog into the forest where he discovered the dying pilgrim. He became his friend and cared for him, and was led by St Roch to a better life.

When St Roch returned to his home town of Montpelier after many years, the city was at war. He refused to let the people of the city know his identity, as a member of the city’s nobility, preferring to be known only as a humble pilgrim. He was not recognised, as he was so disfigured by his illnesses. The local people believed that he was a spy. He was thrown into a dungeon where he died five years later.

After his death his goodness was recognised and a great devotion to him sprang up. In France his day was a holy day of obligation. In Rome, his intercession was invoked against the plague during the Council of Constance in 1414, during which processions and prayers were held in his honour, after which the plague ceased. Below is a photo of a procession of St Roch in the Italian part of Boston, USA.

He is depicted as a pilgrim with a walking staff and seashell, (the pilgrim’s symbol), an open sore on his leg, always with a dog by his side. He is the patron saint of dogs, dog owners, knee problems, surgeons, bachelors, and diseased cattle. He is invoked against cholera, plague, skin rashes, contagious diseases and epidemics.

I have set out two recipes below, both of which are reasonably quick and a bit cheaty, as they use store-bought short-cuts. As they are simple, particularly St Roch's Fingers, they can be made by children.

TARTE TATIN A LA TOMATE

Serves 6

[Recipe from Anne Willan, “Country Cooking of France”, Chronicle Books, at p. 284].

INGREDIENTS:

170g store-bought puff pastry

900g tomatoes (Roma), cored and halved lengthways

60g sugar

60ml red wine vinegar

60ml olive oil

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

3 bay leaves

1 head of garlic, separated into cloves, unpeeled

60ml red wine

few leaves Arugula or Frisee, to finish

salt and pepper

METHOD:

Heat the oven to 140 degrees. Sprinkle the cut sides of the tomato with salt and pepper and set them aside. Sprinkle the sugar in a large frying pan with an ovenproof handle and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts and toasts to golden caramel, 3 to 5 minutes. Take the pan from the heat and at once add the vinegar, standing back as it will sputter and fume. Return to the heat, stir to dissolve the caramel and then stir in the oil.

Again, take the pan from the heat and add the tomatoes, cut side down, packing them tightly so they all touch the bottom and pushing the rosemary and bay between them.

Roast the tomatoes in the oven until they are very tender and wrinkled, 2 to 2½ hours. Forty minutes or so before they are ready, add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan.

Oil a second frying pan with an ovenproof handle and transfer the tomatoes to it, arranging them snugly, cut side down, in a pattern. Discard the herbs but leave the garlic in the first pan, along with any juices. Add the wine to the garlic and heat it, stirring to dissolve the juices and boil them down to 2-3 tablespoons. Pour the liquid and garlic through a strainer over the tomatoes, then push through the garlic pulp. Set the tomatoes aside to cool. The tomatoes may be cooked up to a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees C. On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 25cm round and prick the dough so that it rises evenly. Transfer it to the pan to cover the tomatoes and tuck any excess pastry down around the fruit. Bake the tart until the dough has risen and is crisp and golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Let the tart cool for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a platter and garnish with the Arugula.

ST ROCH’S FINGERS

In this recipe, set out in Katherine Burton’s book, the Ladyfingers are bought.

INGREDIENTS

4 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

pinch salt

2 cups scalded milk

1 tablespoon brandy

Ladyfingers

METHOD

Beat the egg yolks lightly and add the sugar and salt. Pour in the scalded milk slowly, stirring all the while and place over a slow fire. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken but do not allow to boil.

Strain and, when cool, flavour with 1 tablespoon of brandy. Arrange Ladyfingers on the bottom and around the sides of a glass serving dish, pour in the custard, and serve when thoroughly chilled.