DO YOU LIKE OYSTERS?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 460, 16 April 1948, Page 26

DO YOU LIKE OYSTERS?

YSTERS seem to be one of the "extremist" foods. People either enjoy them extremely or shudder at the sight of them. There are few who feel "moderately" about them, and these do not buy them on account of the expense. So I have not given this page to oyster recipes for a year or two. Now it is time to cater for the oyster-lover again, and perhaps some of the "moderates" may be enticed into the devoted circle. Oysters are extremely rich in food-value, are helpful to anaemic people, are a good source of iodine as well as iron, and protein. Oyster Soup Two dozen fresh oysters, bearded and cut in half, and their liquor; 1oz. butter; 14%oz. flour; % pint milk, 1 dessertspoon chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Melt the butter, add the flour, stir till smooth, cooking a little. Add the hot milk gradually; and the oyster liquor, stirring well. Cook till it thickens. Then put in oysters, pepper and salt to taste. Do not cook any longer, only allow oysters to heat through on very low heat. Add chopped parsley and serve. Oyster Surprises Scald the oy$ters (after bearding) in their own liquor over low heat until edges just begjn to curl. Have ready a very light mixture made of 2 cups mashed potatoes whipped up with 2 tablespoons of cream, 1 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper to taste and a little grated nutmeg; and a tablespoon of very finely chopped parsley. Form into balls or pats, and tuck 2 oysters in each pat. Dip these in beaten egg, roll in crumbs, and arrange in a greased baking dish. Bake a pretty brown in a hot oven, basting twice with a little. melted butter. Oysters with Tomatoes Two breakfast cups of freshly-opened oysters, 2 cups soft breadcrumbs; ¥2 teaspoon salt; 1-8 teaspoon pepper; 3 tablespoons melted butter; 2 large tomatoes; third of cup dry breadcrumbs; 1 tablespoon butter or fat additional. Wash each oyster separately. Be sure all shell is removed. Oil a shallow baking dish. Mix the breadcrumbs with the salt and pepper and the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and arrange a layer in the dish. Cover with a layer of the oysters. If wery large, these may be halved. Put on another thin layer of crumbs, then enother layer of oysters and sprinkle a few crumbs over the top. Over this place a tomato sliced quite thin. Sprinkle lightly with salt and’ cover with fine dry crumbs and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in a moderate oven. The tomatoes may be omitted from the recipe if desired. Buttered Oysters One dozen oysters, 1 dessertspoon butter. Scald oysters in their own liquor, then strain and beard them. Heat

the butter, drop in the prepared oysters and cook for one or two minutes. Add cayenne to taste, Serve on a hot plate with fingers of crisp toast, or thin bread and butter. Oysters and Mushrooms This is. an American recipe. You need %441lb. of fresh mushrooms and 3 dozen oysters, Slice the mushrooms and brown them in 4 tablespoons of butter or substitute. Add. 5 tablespoons flour; ¥% teaspoon salt, and blend all nicely. Add 1% cups of good milk and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until smooth and thickened. Meanwhile, heat the oysters. in their liquor in a saucepan over low heat until the edges just begin to curl. Add them (drained) to the creamed mushrooms, with a shake of pepper and of celery salt. Mix thoroughly. Serve with toast points, made by cutting each toast slice in half from corner to corner. Or serve in patty shells. Some people prefer the sauce made with part oyster liquor instead of all milk. Oyster Casino Wash and open oysters. Into each half shell put % teaspoon strained oyster liquor, a few drops of lemon juice, then the oyster sprinkled with salt and. pepper, and covered with buttered crumbs, On each lay a square of bacon, and put in a hot oven for 10 or 12 minutes, If the half shelis are embedded in coarse salt, they will be kept from tipping. Shallow ovenware little dishes may be used, Pigs in Blankets Wrap half a thin slice of bacon around each oyster and fasten with a matchstick. Arrange on a wire rack in a-baking pan. Bake in hot oven (425 degrees or Regulo 7) until bacon is crisp and brown-15 to 20 minutes. Remove matchsticks before serving. Oyster Corn Another. American dish. Put 1 cup of cooked corn and 1% cups of diced raw celery into a saucepan with 2 cups of water and 4% teaspoon each of pepper and salt; bring slowly to the boil. Place a cupful of halved oysters in a strainer and set over the boiling corn mixture, Cover closely and cook until the edges of the oysters ruffle-about 12 minutes. Then add 2 cups of rich milk to the cooking corn and celery, Cook 5 minutes longer, add the oysters and a tablespoon of butter; and serve. May be thickened to taste if desired. Curried Oysters One minced onion; 1 apple; 1 tomato; loz. butter; loz. best cornflour; 1 tablespoon curry; 4% tablespoon chutney; 42 pint milk; 2 dozen oysters; pepper; salt; and lemon juice. Mince the onion, apple and tomato, and fry a light brown in the butter, Then add cornflour and curry powder, add the milk gradually, salt and chutney. Simmer 20 minutes. Add oysters and lemon juice, and serve with a border of rice.