Recipes

"[Editor's note: Crayfish are hard to find in the United States; they may be replaced by a small lobster or unshelled large prawns.]



Plunge the crayfish into boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain immediately, remove the tails and claws, and shells. Pound the shells in a mortar.

In a saucepan, sauté the pounded shells in 1 tablespoon butter; add the onions and carrots, cut into a fine mirepoix.

Flame half the cognac and pour it over the mixture. Pour in the white wine and a little water to moisten. Add the tomato purée and the bouquet garni. Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne.

Cook on a very low flame for about 20 minutes. Then rub the mixture through a very fine sieve and thicken with beurre manié made with 2 tablespoons flour and 3 tablespoons butter to make a sauce.

Stew the tails and claws in 2 tablespoons butter. Deglaze the pan with the remaining cognac. Add the cream and the crayfish sauce. After adding the truffles, bring to the boiling point for a few minutes; then off the heat mix in the hollandaise sauce.

Correct the seasoning, and combine the crayfish and the sauce in individual ovenproof porcelain gratin dishes.

Place under the broiler to brown lightly.

This dish, of very fine quality, must be served immediately.



Hollandaise sauce



Ingredients:



1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons water, pinch crushed white peppercorns, 3 egg yolks, 1/2 pound excellent quality unsalted butter.



In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, and pepper; reduce this mixture, called gastrique, to 1 teaspoon.

Cool the mixture; then add the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons cold water. Mix together with a whisk, and heat slowly, beating continuously and being careful to scrape up the sauce on the bottom of the pan -so that all the egg yolks are incorporated.

For an inexperienced cook it is advisable to place the saucepan in a double boiler over water that is very hot but not boiling. The egg yolks will take longer to cook, but the success of the sauce is more certain. In fact, one is trying to form a thickening element for the butter -an extremely smooth support- and, if you use too much heat or cook the yolks too fast, they will solidify into small lumps and lose their thickening property and smoothness.

Therefore this first step, the most difficult one, consists of emulsifying the yolks by submitting thern to a progressively increasing heat, which will make the sauce very thick, smooth, and creamy.

When the egg-yolk emulsion reaches the consistency of very thick cream, incorporate the butter, melted or cut into tiny pieces, bit by bit, whipping vigorously, and add a pinch of salt.

If you notice that the sauce is getting too thick and solid, from time to time, while you are whipping the sauce (which is called monter une sauce, making a sauce mount), add a few drops of tepid water. This method is preferable to suddenly adding extra liquid to lighten the sauce when it is finished.

This is the way that a hollandaise sauce becomes savory, somewhat thickened, but still light. Correct the seasoning and keep warm in a double boiler over very low heat.

Too much heat will cause the yolks to separate from the butter. Then the sauce has become tourné -curdled.

If this happens, heat 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan, then, beating continuously, add small quantities of the sauce that has separated.

You may omit the vinegar mixture, depending on your taste and what the sauce will be used for.

If the vinegar is not used, the sauce is seasoned -acidulated- with a few drops of lemon juice.

These techniques and the use of first-quality butter are sure guarantees of success: the sauce is really delicious.

As an economy measure, one can add to this sauce one part, more or less, of butter sauce. This practice is not recommended; however, it lowers the price of the sauce and keeps it from being too sensitive to high heat."