Beurre Maitre d'hotel

There is a very simple sauce recipe: the beurre Maitre d'hotel or parsley butter. It is made in no time and is traditionaly used to accompanie grilled meats or fish, but can also be used to stuff snails, mussels and clams, mussels and cockles before grilling them. It can also, be kept for up to a month in the fridge and freezes well.

Recipe for 8 people:

• 150g (51/3 oz) butter, kept at room temperature.
• 1 clove of garlic.
• 1 lemon juice.
• 1/2 buch of flat parsley.
• salt and pepper.

Procedure:

In a bowl, place the soft but not melting butter along with the lemon juice, pepper (salt if using unsalted butter), the crushed and very finely chopped garlic. Start mixing (not working) the butter with a fork or wooden spoon.

Thouroughly, wash and dry the parsley and chop it very finely. Add it to the butter and keep mixing until all the ingredients have binded well together.

Take a sheet of tin foil, cover it with a sheet of cling film. Place the parsley butter on all its lenght and roll it into a sausage. Tie each ends of the tube and squeeze them by rolling the tin foil between your fingers until it becomes very tight.

Keep refrigerated.

Butter is "...the most delicate of foods among barbarous nations, and one which distinguishes the wealthy from the multitude at large."

Pliny

Suitable for pregnant women, coeliacs, vegetarians. Contains lactose. Nut free.