Whodunnit Dinners podcast #20 Season 3 Ep1 Agatha Christie: The Mysterious Mr Quin, Commedia Dell'arte and square bits of bread

Hello again, pod fans! This Whodunnit Dinners blog post accompanies the first podcast from Season 3, which is going to be a series All About Agatha! We will be introducing you to eight of Agatha Christie’s books over the next sixteen weeks: some classics, some lesser known, some of her own personal favourites and some that just piqued our interest. We kicked off this new series with our summer special in May: our team trip/podcast on the road to see Agatha Christie’s play the Mousetrap in London’s West End, which you can listen to it here.

Who is the Mysterious Mr Quin?

In our latest podcast, Katie introduces Helen to a collection of supernatural short stories, featuring the mystery-solving Mr Satterthwaite. Yes, you heard that right: supernatural short stories. You think you know Agatha and then you absolutely flipping don’t! The Mysterious Mr Quin follows elderly socialite Mr. Satterthwaite, whose quiet gift for observing people draws him into uncanny dramas, into which the elusive Harley Quin arrives like a flicker of light. Quin’s timely, spectral visits steer him toward uncovering old secrets and fatal truths. It was first published in the UK in 1930, so quite early on in her career. 

What was the food challenge?

Katie had told Helen to prepare to talk about food related to the theatre and Italy. Assuming this meant the book was based in Italy, Helen decided to serve up some classic Italian dishes that she found in the traditional Italian cookbook The Silver Spoon (Il Cucchiaio d’Argento in Italian). “Eating is a serious matter in Italy,” as is declared in the opening sentence, and at over 1000 pages with more than 2000 recipes, this is a serious cookbook. (In fact, the reason Katie asked for Italian theatrical food is because the supernatural Mr Quin is based on the Harlequin of the Commedia dell’ arte tradition and his multi-cloloured, diamond-patterned suit. Fortunately, Katie didn’t seem too bothered that the meal had nothing to do with that, and quite frankly, it was a pretty obscure connection, so she was right not to complain too much.) 

What did Helen serve up for the meal?

Based on Katie’s vague challenge, Helen went down the road of what an Italian might eat at a night out to the theatre, which generally means some small bites and plates accompanied by a light red or sparkling wine, with dinner to follow after the theatre show. 

 So in the Silver Spoon, Helen looked for a series of small dish recipes, which were mercifully easy to make. 

Reading the detailed recipe book, she discovered that traditional Italian antipasti was classically based around cold meats and served with pickles and vegetables preserved in oil. A more international selection would include eggs, seafood and shellfish. 

The first recipe she picked out was Quails’ Eggs.

1. For 4 people, cook 16 eggs for 8 minutes. Drain under cold water and shell. Cut in half. 

2. Stack several lettuce leaves on top of one another, roll up and then cut into slices to make thin strips. Repeat with the rest of the lettuce. 

3. Make a bed of the strips on a serving plate. Arrange the half eggs in groups of four like flower petals. 

4. Gently stir 2 tablespoons of double cream into 250 ml of mayonnaise, then stir in 4 tablespoons on fresh orange juice, without bits. 

5. Season with salt and pepper than drizzle over the eggs. 

The next easy one she liked the look of was Cherry Tomatoes and Crab Bites. 

1. For 4 people, cut the tops off 12 cherry tomatoes and scoop out some of the pulp. 

2. Sprinkle the insides with salt and place upside down on kitchen towel to drain. 

3. Mix 250g of drained crab meat (canned is fine) with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. 

4. Fill the tomatoes with the crab mixture and garnish with black olives. 

Helen was surprised to discover from the cook book that the Italians have a specific definition for the word ‘canape’ which she just thought was the lovely little food things of all varieties she hoovered up at weddings and grand functions. However, an Italian canape is simply a square slice of bread, crusts removed, cut into halves, quarters or triangles. They can be toasted, fried or just left as they are. Then topped with eggs, anchovies, ham or cheese, with the flavours carefully combined. 

A ‘tartine’ is closely related to a canape but distinguish themselves by being very small and not overloaded. They can be any shape: hearts, diamonds, stars, whatever you like. The surface of the bread should be lightly buttered to prevent the tartines from becoming soggy. They can be prepared in advance, covered in foil. 

How to Make Rustic Tartines 

1. For 4 people, cream 5 small fresh goats cheese in a bowl, then beat in 12 green olives, stoned and sliced. 

2. Add 4 pickled chillis, seeded and chopped, then about 50g canned tuna in oil, drained and flaked.

3. Season with salt.

4. Cut out shapes from 4-8 slices of white bread, spread with butter then the cheese/tuna mixture. 

5. Garnish with some pickled pearl onions. 

Listen to the podcast

If you want to hear more about Agatha Christie, Mr Satterthwaite, or the Mysterious Mr Quin, or if you just want to pass the time listening to two old friends chat about books and food, check out Whodunnit Dinners podcast #20!