Bronovsky

Bronovsky's Cats

'Bronovsky's Cats' is a reflection of Bronovsky's love for and ownership of many cats (or perhaps cats owning Bronovsky is a better description). The first chapter concerns Bella. We have several cats. My closest friend is Bella. She arrived pregnant and very ill, with a matted, dull, lifeless coat full of ear mites and fleas. Starved by ‘owners’, if that is the correct word, who either were deliberately cruel or, perhaps more insidiously, indifferent to her fate. She left and wandered into our garden hoping for refuge. It was touch and go whether she survived, she gradually improved physically, but remained emotionally scarred. Initially she was terrified of the indoors and my booming voice. Gradually she warmed and her true personality began to emerge. Now read or listen on... 

Bronovsky's cooking

'Bronovsky's Cooking' is part of a collection of the updated recipes Count Bronovsky gathered from his travels.  What follows are two excerpts

Fast roast fillet of pork. Just the thing when one is in a hurry. Get two pieces of fillet 12 oz each. 2 cloves of garlic cut into wafer thin slices. Put slices into each fillet in several cuts. 1 Tbsp rosemary leaves stripped and bruised (mortar and pestle or hammer!) and chop finely. 1 1/2 ounces butter melted and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cider vinegar. Brush pork fillets with mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 chopped rosemary. Pat down. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Do the same on the other side. Well buttered solid baking tray. Sprinkle a small chopped onion over tray. Place fillets in. Add 3 granny smith apples each cut into 6 pieces with butter cider mix brushed on. Add rosemary. Sprinkle apples with a little brown sugar. Place in pre-heated 450C over. Takes only 25 minutes. Rest the pork whilst making up the sauce. Scrap baking tray with a little cider. Add 8 fluid ounces of dry cider. Whisk. Turn heat up. Reduce to 1/3 of original volume (5 minutes). Add 50% fat crème fresh 1/2 cup. Whisk. Pour over meat. Cut the meat into medallions. If pork is too expensive this also works well with a small chicken, but since the chicken will take 1 hour add the apple pieces after 1/2 an hour.

Fillet steak Czar Nicholas. Alas dear readers Beef Wellington is but as place imitation of this. Dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, chop finely in a food processor, sauté all with butter, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, cook on very lowest heat for 35 minutes until quite dry. Sear the fillet steaks in a hot pan for 30 seconds on each side. When the steaks are cold brush with brandy, season, place on mushroom mix which is in turn placed on a square of puff pastry. Put more mushroom mix on the top. Glaze around pastry with an egg, bring opposite edges into centre like an envelop, brush all with a beaten egg. Cook in a hot oven for 25 minutes for medium rare. While the steaks are cooking scrape the pan, add remains of the mushroom mix, add a little red wine, let it bubble until it becomes syrupy.

Simple spaghetti sauce. Handful each of finely chopped onions, carrots and celery. Fry until onions are transparent in a butter and olive oil mix. Add 250g of beef mince and 250g of pork mince (I tried 1 Kg of each and adjusted the other ingredients). Fry until the meat changes colour. Do not completely cook. Add 1 cup of milk. Gently cook 10 to 15 minutes or until the milk has evaporated. Add three cups of tomato paste, 1 large jar of pulped tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of sugar, a generous pinch of salt, several grinds of pepper, grated nutmeg, oregano (preferably fresh) and 1 ½ cups of red wine. Very gently simmer for 2 hours.

More recipes in this free download Word file of 'Bronovsky's Cooking'

If you'd like to send feedback, receive further chapters of these writings or have a few ideas of your own send me an e-mail bronovskycrime@gmail.com