THE SOUFFLES
1 boiled crab, -or- prepared crabmeat
6 oz prepared laverbread or- nori or spi, nach
2 oz butter
2 oz flour
3/4 pt milk
3 eggs
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 salt & pepper
COCKLE SAUCE
1/4 pt white sauce from souffle mix
1/4 pt whipping cream
4 oz cockles or clams (shelled)
2 oz prepared laverbread **
Directions
If the crab is whole, pull the body apart and pick out all the meat -
discarding only the mouthpiece and the grey "dead man's fingers" that
fringe the inside carapace. For extra flavour, make a stock with crab
shell, flavoured with a piece of carrot and a quarter of onion, and
boil down to a couple of well-flavoured tablespoons which can replace
the equivalent milk in the basic white sauce given above.
Prepare the white sauce; melt the butter in a small pan. Stir in the
flour and fry gently until the mixture is still pale but sandy. Whisk
in the milk slowly, beating till you have a thick sauce. Simmer for 5
minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) gas mark 6. Stir the
crabmeat and prepared laverbread into the sauce. Season with salt,
pepper and nutmeg. Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until quite
stiff. By now the sauce will be cool enough to stir in the yolks.
Fold in the whites, turning well to "tire" the mixture. Taste and
adjust the seasoning. Butter eight small souffle dishes and spoon in
the mixture, leaving a finger's worth for expansion. Bake for 10-12
minutes until puffed up and golden.
Meanwhile make the cockle sauce. Heat up the reserved white sauce
with the cream. Stir in the cockles and laverbread. Season with the
salt and freshly milled pepper. Serve with the souffles as soon as
they are ready.
Source: Elisabeth Luard in "Country Living" (British), April 1989.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 8 servings
Laverbread & Crab Souffles With Cockle Sauce Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Casserole; Crab; Egg
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Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe found, according to experts are some stone tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel exhilarated and blissful. Progressing into The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts describing recipes prepared by the Romans. In his publication, he describes how the meals were separated into starters, main course and afters, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Aspicius informs us how the cooks of his times used many aromatic flavours, including a few you will know for example thyme, fennel and asafoetida. Over the next few centuries, the wealthy families of Wesstern Europe competed with each other to offer the most extravagent banquests, and as a result the best chefs and their collection of recipes became highly prized. Even so, it was during the nineteenth century that cooking and recipe publications rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down recipes common in their social group. The introduction of television brought us TV cookery programs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to search through thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Laverbread & Crab Souffles With Cockle Sauce recipe.
