NANAS PATI RAJA
There are only a few fruit shells which are as temptingly beautiful to use as a serving dish. Pineapple shells are not only suitable as extravagant surrounds for fruit salads or exotic drinks, but can also be used as vessels for hot dishes.
salt * 150 g (5 oz) soup noodles (vermicelli) * 50 g (2 oz) almonds
1/8 liter (1/4 pint/ ½ cup) cream * 2 egg yolks * cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper * 2 fresh, medium-sized pineapples
1 ½ tablespoons cognac
Cook
oven-ready chicken with soup vegetables and onion halves in skin gently
in salted water for 2-3 hours. Remove from stock, cut meat from bones
and separate into bite-size pieces. Cook soup noodles in stock until tender
and drain. Mix chicken, soup noodles and chopped roasted almonds. Mix 1/8 litre (1/4 pint/ ½ cup) of stock with cream, add beaten egg yolks, season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and cook mixture gently while stirring constantly until it thickens. Add chicken and soup noodles. Cut pineapples into halves, scoop out flesh but leave small edge, dice flesh and pour cognac over it, set aside.
Fill pineapple shells with chicken mixture, wrap in aluminium foil, make sure leaves are also wrapped, and bake in oven at 220 C (425 F) for 40 minutes. Open foil, top mixture with diced pineapples and put in oven for another five minutes. Remove foil before serving.