FH115 Final.qxd - Winston Churchill

ARTS
Recipes from No. 10: Beignets with Cheese
by Georgina Landemare, the Churchill family cook, 1940s-1950s,
updated and annotated for the modern kitchen by Barbara Langworth
(b_langworth@conknet.com).
In the fascinating
life of her mother,
Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a
Marriage, Lady Soames acquaints us with
Georgina Landemare:
“Mrs. Landemare was a superb cook, combining
the best of French and English cooking. She had learned
her craft the hard way, starting as No. 6 in the kitchen
over which reigned the French chef, Monsieur Landemare,
whom she eventually married. Clementine had
come to know and appreciate her talents and her delightful
personality during the Thirties, when she used to
come to Chartwell for special parties or busy weekends to
boost and teach the rather inexperienced cooks or promoted
kitchenmaids that Clementine could then afford.
When they moved into Downing Street, Mrs. Landemare
came to cook for Winston and Clementine on a permanent
basis. Through all the difficulties of wartime rationing,
she managed to produce delicious food. After
the war she stayed with us until 1953 when she retired,
aged seventy.” Lady Churchill later wrote the foreword
for Mrs. Landemare’s book, Recipes from No. 10, which
may be republished by her granddaughter.
These delectable morsels from Mrs. Landemare's
kitchen were a particular favorite of the Churchill family.
BEIGNETS WITH CHEESE
(Makes 3-4 dozen)
choux paste*
4 oz grated Parmesan cheese mixed with
4 oz grated Gruyère cheese
2 egg yolks
cayenne pepper
Mix the choux paste with the grated cheese and
egg yolks and add several pinches of cayenne pepper.
Drop a spoonful at a time into very hot, but not boiling,
deep fat. Fry slowly until a golden brown. Remove from
the oil and place on kitchen paper which will absorb any
surplus grease.
Serve with tomato sauce.†
*CHOUX PASTE
1/4 lb butter
10 oz water
4 eggs
4 oz. (scant cup) flour
In a saucepan put water, butter and salt and
bring to the boil. Mix the flour in all at once and beat
well until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan (a
wooden spoon works well). Remove from the heat and
allow to cool for a minute or two, then gradually add the
four eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
†TOMATO SAUCE
1 lb. Tomatoes
3 chopped shallots
Sprig of thyme
Parsley stalks
Pepper & salt
1 tsp. Sugar
3 tbs. olive oil
1 blade (clove) of garlic
butter
Put the oil into a saucepan and fry the shallots
until soft; add the thyme, parsley stalks, garlic, seasoning
and sugar. Cut the tomatoes up coarsely and add to the
rest. Stir well and cook slowly for 1/2 hour. Pass through
a fine sieve, reheat and add a small knob of butter. ,
FINEST HOUR 115 / 44