We don't seem to take cures as seriously as our ancestors, who, with their spas and their ungents and their patent medicines, appreciated the necessity of purging and restoring the body. Modern medicine promises to not only cure almost everything, but also to get us back on our feet as quickly as can be managed. And so cures - foods and drinks and whatnots which invigorate us, console us and nurse us - seem to play an increasingly smaller role in our lives.
But if we think about what we eat, and why we eat it, we might find our favourite foods effectively act as cures already. My wife, whenever she is poorly, craves risotto, looking for the starchy rice and the flavoursome stock to set her to rights. The Chinese, whose obsession with food and health outstrips all other countries, will make chicken with wine and ginger for women who have given birth, to restore the body and set everything back to normal, and in Chinese cooking food is eaten not merely for its flavour, but also because of its health-giving properties, its ability to balance yin and yang. The truth is that good food always has an element of a cure about it, and if we eat good foods we are less likely to fall prey to illness: we can only feel as good as what we eat.
And, of course, we can only be as good as the good things we drink. Nearly 40 years ago, the great M.F.K. Fisher wrote a little book entitled, A Cordiall Water: A garland of odd and old receipts to assuage the ills of man and beast. Fisher noted that, among other things, alcohol plays a major part in effective cures, especially for that dreaded "annual" cold. "As far as I know, there is nothing more comforting in this world, on land or sea, than grog for human fog . . . I have met a few people who seem impervious to cold infection, and without exception they were moderate but seasoned whiskey drinkers."
One of my favourite cures from the book is something Fisher learned when she first travelled to France:
How to cure a cold
"One tall silk hat, one four- poster bed, one bottle of brandy. To be taken as follows: put the tall silk hat on the right hand post at the foot of the bed, lie down and arrange yourself comfortably, drink the brandy, and when you see a tall silk hat on both the right and left bedposts you are cured."
Chicken Soup
Aside from the hootch, when autumn time threatens to lay us low there are foods which restore us, favourite things which put us on the road to recovery. And chief among these, I would suggest, is chicken soup.
"Jewish penicillin" is what Jewish people call chicken soup, on account of its cure-all qualities, and there is something so direct and calming about a well-made chicken soup that everyone should have it in their repertoire for when coughs start to hack and noses run. This is the one I like to make, and I recommend it to those who are hale and hearty also.
1 large chicken
1 large carrot, cut into pieces
1 medium turnip, cut into large pieces
1 leek
2 stalks celery 2 sprigs parsley
Sea salt
White peppercorns
Pasta shapes such as vermicelli or orzo
Chopped parsley
Wash and dry the chicken and place in a large pot with four pints of water. Bring to the boil, and skim off any scum which rises. Now, add all the vegetables to the pot, with a good pinch of sea salt and a few white peppercorns. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for one hour. Then, carefully lift out the chicken. Let it cool, and then carefully remove all the meat from the carcass. Spoon some soup-liquid over the chicken-flesh to keep it moist. Place the carcass back into the pot, adding some more water if you feel it is necessary. Simmer the soup for another hour, by which time it will be done.
Strain the soup through a sieve. If you have lots of time, you may choose now to refrigerate the soup, which will allow you to take the fat off the soup very easily when it is cooled. If you want to remove the fat immediately, then use kitchen paper to mop it from the top of the soup. You can, of course, serve the soup fat and all. The traditional accompaniments to chicken soup are little vermicelli, dropped into the soup a few minutes before serving, and some chopped parsley. I like to use small shapes such as orzo, well rinsed to remove starch and cooked separately, then added to the soup at the last minute, with the chopped parsley scattered atop just before the soup is brought to table. I also like to add in some shredded chicken, but you may prefer to save it. Now, unless you have had to feed a whole horde of invalids, you will have left over a delicately poached chicken and some lovely chicken broth - in other words, the basis for a curing, consoling risotto . . .
Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with Grated Ginger
TO make a healthy risotto, I think we should add some ginger to the classic team of chicken and mushrooms, in this case dried porcini or chanterelles. Ginger is, like garlic and certain herbs, a renowned curer, a revitaliser and stimulant. It works by carrying other remedies into the body by aiding their absorption and distribution through the bloodstream. It opens the blood vessels, creates sweating and warmth, and stimulates the heart while thinning the blood.
Rather than frying the ginger with onions at the beginning of the risotto, however, I like to grate it and stir it in with just a few minutes to go, as this preserves its "hot" nature much better, and gives the risotto a real kick.
1/2 oz dried chanterelles or porcini
150g/5 oz Arborio rice
1-2 chicken legs and thighs
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or onion
750ml/1 1/2 pints chicken broth
1/2 oz butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 oz freshly grated Parmesan
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
Soak the dried mushrooms in 225 ml warm water, for at least half an hour.
Heat the chicken broth, and hold at a gentle simmer.
Saute the chopped shallots or onions in a pot with the olive oil and butter until translucent. Toss in the rice and coat it generously with the lotion, stirring constantly. Begin to add the broth, ladleful by ladleful, stirring constantly. Lift the mushrooms out of their water and squeeze dry: reserve the water. Chop the mushrooms finely.
Strain the mushroom water through a very fine sieve or cheesecloth so that any sediment is removed. Add the mushroom water to the risotto and stir. Gradually add all the remaining broth, until the rice is puffed up and toothsome, and not chalky in the centre. When you have reached that stage, stir in the finely chopped chicken. Then stir in the grated ginger, and stir well. Check seasoning, then add the finely grated Parmesan. Serve in warmed bowls.
Chinese Rice Congee
Another of the great variants on the chicken-broth-rice theme is the Chinese cure, congee, or rice porridge, which is given to those whose appetite is jaded after feasting. Ken Hom, in his book The Taste of China, perfectly sums up the Chinese preoccupation with food and health: "The point of food as medicine is to attain and maintain harmony between the body and its nutritional needs. Historically, this is done by the careful consideration of the `four natures' of both food and the body: cold, hot, cool and warm. Then they are carefully complemented by the `five flavours' - salty, sour, sweet, pungent and bitter." Basic congee is simple to make, and it acts as a good basis for adding in other flavours: shredded chicken and ginger, perhaps, cooked beans, or you could simply add a dash of soy sauce. The Australian food writer, Jill Dupleix, writes that she eats congee "for lunch on the run, or for a late supper with a glass of champagne" - the certainly sounds extra theraputic! Her suggested additions to the rice porridge are: "Smoked fish, pickled vegetables, salted peanuts, sliced fresh ginger, sliced roast pork, sliced cooked chicken, sea scallops, roasted shallots, fish sauce, coriander, or just spring onion greens." Here is Jill's recipe. She suggests using water instead of chicken stock, but stock will give much more flavour.
1 cup short grain rice
10 cups cold water or chicken stock, or half and half
Rinse rice under cold, running water until the water runs clear, not cloudy. Combine rice and stock or water in a large pot, and bring to the boil. Cover pot and simmer very gently for two hours or more, stirring occasionally, until rice dissolves into a thick and creamy soup. Add more water if too thick, or cook longer if too thin. Heretics can add salt and pepper at this point but the flavour is meant to be pure. Serve in small bowls with platters of accompaniments to add to the soup.
Stina's Healing Tea
`Why should a man die who has sage in the garden?," runs the old proverb, and sage has been celebrated as a cure for centuries, its very name deriving from the Latin salvere, to save or cure. Sage juice has been recommended for women who had difficulty in conceiving, while the Greeks and Romans used it as a general tonic for mind and body, as well as a cure for snake bites. In fact, according to Roger Philips and Nicky Foy's book, Herbs, there is nothing sage won't cure: "Sage tea is said to be an excellent tonic for nerves and a stimulant to the circulation. It has been recommended for convalescents, depressive, anaemics and also for students and academics suffering the stress of examinations. It is reputed to be good for regulating menstruation, reducing fever, soothing rheumatic pain and migraine and warding off disease. Smoking dried sage leaves can relieve asthma; burning sage in an invalid's room will fumigate it; a cold infusion of sage can be given to babies with diarrhoea. Externally, it is used for wounds, scabs, eczema and spots". Blimey! And we think Viagra is a wonder-drug.
Here is one of my favourite potions which uses sage, Stina's Healing Tea, from Viana la Place's book, Unplugged Kitchen. La Place writes: "I've made it many times and it has saved me from getting a cold - its fragrance and flavour immediately lift my spirits. The herbs have many beneficial properties, such as the natural antibiotic in sage."
1 sprig each sage, basil, marjoram and spearmint
1 thin slice lemon, preferably organic
1 cup spring water
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons brandy
Simmer together herbs, lemon and water for 10-15 minutes. Stir in honey, cover, and let steep for five minutes. Stir in brandy and drink.
Boiled Water
Finally, let us turn to garlic, that great curer. Even those who can't abide the stuff will swear by garlic pills for the sake of their health, but I reckon there is nothing finer than a good garlic soup, with its mellow, comforting flavour. At its very simplest, the best garlic cure is the Provencale dish, L'Aigo Boulido, or Boiled Water. "This Provencale infusion has extraordinary virtues," writes Josephine Besson. "Nothing can resist it: hangover, illness, childbirth - there can be no convalescence without Boiled Water." The proverb says: "Aigo Boulido sauova la vida: Boiled Water saves your life."
1 litre water
Salt
12-15 garlic cloves
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 or 2 sprigs sage
4 tablespoons olive oil
Sliced dry bread
Grated cheese (Parmesan of Gruyere) In a saucepan, salt the water, add the garlic, and bring to the boil. After 10 minutes add the bay, sage and a dash of oil. Let cook a few minutes more, then take the pan off the heat, cover, and allow the soup to stand for about 10 minutes. Strain.
Put the bread slices into a warmed soup tureen, cover with grated cheese, sprinkle with the remaining oil, and pour in the strained infusion.