Moneybags

Near to Skipton, there is a little village called Hetton, home to the Angel Inn, a gastropub of some reknown. Thirty miles East from here, near to Knaresborough, there is a little village called Ferrensby, home to The General Tarleton Inn, similarly reknowned. The two have a number of things that connect them. For example, the owners of the Angel used to be part owners of the GT which is now wholely owned by the ex-Head Chef of the Angel. Another is that on both of their menus they have a starter called Moneybags.

My brother-in-law, Eric, is one of the chefs at the Angel and we once celebrated his birthday at the General Tarleton where a number of us opted for the Moneybags. They were absolutely exquisite. Crisp filo parcels of seafood sitting in a pool of golden lobster sauce. It was these that I tried to recreate at our recent dinner party with a few helpful hints from Eric who has prepared "literally thousands of them".

Let's get it straight here. I am no chef. I just like pootling around in the kitchen. Thus, anything I was going to produce was always going to be a shadow of the real stuff. That said, it did turn out pretty well, and our guests asked me for the recipe. Here it is. The cheat version that is. To serve 4.

The Parcels:
4 Squares of Filo Pastry
3oz Salmon
3oz Cod
4 Jumbo King Prawns
2 Scallops
Tarragon
Chives

The Sauce:
1/2 Can Lobster Bisque
1/2 Pot Single Cream

Par boil a few chives. This makes them pliable but still reasonably strong. These will be your moneybag drawstrings.

Cut each of the fish into eight cubes, and the prawns and scallops in half. Divide them four ways, mix in a bit of tarragon and place into the centre of each of the filo squares.

For each parcel, gather together the corners of the filo and squeeze it together just above the seafood. Take a chive and tie the parcel shut. Tidy up the top by snipping off excess pastry.

Place the parcels on a greased baking tray at Gas Mark 5 for about 10 minutes when they should be nice and golden brown.

Meanwhile mix the Bisque and Cream and bring to simmering point.

Place each Moneybag in the centre of a sideplate and surround with a pool of the sauce.

Serve.