At the same time as the sardines, I bought some herring roes. This recipe from Jane Grigson’s Mushroom Feast turns them into something sophisticated.
You will need:
Shortcrust pastry (see below)
240g soft herring roes
180g button mushrooms 25g butter
Salt and pepper
275ml double cream
2 eggs
Chopped parsley
Don’t buy the shortcrust pastry. It’s so easy to make it yourself.
METHOD: Put 210g plain flour and 100g cold butter in a cold basin with a pinch of salt. Cut the butter into shards with a knife. Now, rub the fat and flour mixture between your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. This will take 2 or 3 minutes. Tip a tablespoon of water into the breadcrumbs and, with a fork, stir the mixture together until it begins to form a ball of dough. You will need more water, but add very cautiously, a teaspoon at a time. Soon the crumbs will all be clinging together. With your hand, form the mixture briefly into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge while you grease and lightly flour an 8in flan dish.
Put the roes in a dish and pour boiling water over them. Leave for 5 minutes while you roll out the pastry on a floured board, with a floured rolling pin, to 4mm thickness. Drape the pastry over the rolling pin, and from there, over your flan dish. Tuck it neatly into the base of the dish and cut off the surplus. Crimp the edges, prick the bottom a few times with a fork and bake for 15 minutes at 190C/gas mark 5.
Meanwhile, drain the roes and cut them into bits about 1cm long. Trim the mushroom stalks and wipe clean, but do not peel. Slice and cook in butter in a small pan until the juice begins to run. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the cream, eggs and parsley and beat well. Season with salt and pepper.
Take the pastry out of the oven. Spread the mushrooms (without their liquid) over the base, then the soft roes. Pour the cream mixture over and bake at the same temperature for about 30-35 mins, until the custard is puffy and brown. Serve warm, with a green salad.
Some apricots — split in half, laid in an earthenware dish, covered with vanilla sugar and baked at 180C/gas mark 4 for 35-40 minutes, until the the sugar begins to caramelise — are good after this.