The Essential James Beard Cookbook (40 page)

1 pound crabmeat, picked over for cartilage and shells

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Steam the clams in 1 cup of the red wine until they open—discard any that do not open. Strain the broth through two thicknesses of rinsed cheesecloth and reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat and cook the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 4 minutes. Add the strained clam broth, tomato paste, and remaining 2 cups red wine. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning. Add the basil and the fish, and just cook the fish through, 3 to 5 minutes. Finally, add the steamed clams, crabmeat, and shrimp. Heat for a minute or two, or just until the shrimp are cooked. Do not overcook. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve hot in deep bowls.

VARIATIONS

CIOPPINO WITH MUSSELS:
Substitute mussels for the clams.

CIOPPINO WITH OYSTERS:
Substitute oysters for the clams.

CLAM HASH

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

I’ve been a clam lover ever since my childhood in Oregon, when we used to dig for clams at the beach and cook them in every way imaginable. This hash was a family favorite.

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter

½ cup finely chopped onion

1½ cups drained and minced steamed clams (see
here
), or drained canned clams, clam liquid reserved in either case

1½ cups finely diced cooked potatoes

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large eggs

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until just transparent, about 4 minutes. Add the drained clams and potatoes and press down with a spatula. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a fork or spatula and mixing in some of the crust from the bottom. Press down again. Beat the eggs with ¼ cup of the reserved clam liquid (this intensifies the clam flavor), combine with the cheese, and pour over the hash. Cover tightly and cook until the eggs are set, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.

Le Grand Aïoli

Makes 8 servings

Editor:
Aïoli,
served with a variety of seafood and vegetables, is a fine dish for entertaining, as all of the work can be done ahead of serving. Beard suggests that salt cod, potatoes, hot fish, and hard-cooked eggs are the most essential parts of the feast, but crudités, cooked artichokes, and shrimp are also great additions.

3¼ cups
Aïoli

Accompaniments:

SALT COD.
Two pounds filleted in one piece. Soak in water to cover overnight or for 8 to 10 hours. Change the water once during the soaking. Drain, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the fish is tender. Serve hot.

BOILED POTATOES.
Peel and boil 10 to 12 medium potatoes in salted water until just pierceable. Drain, return to the pot, and dry over low heat. Serve hot.

A COLD OR HOT FRESH FISH.
Striped bass poached in court bouillon and cooled; or poached red snapper or halibut. Serve with a garnish of cucumbers.

HARD-BOILED EGGS.
Figure on at least 1 hard-boiled egg per person (
here
). Peel them, and arrange on a serving dish.

CRAB SOUFFLÉ

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

The mixture for the soufflé may be prepared ahead of time and the soufflé mold buttered. All that remains is for the egg whites to be beaten and the soufflé popped in the oven. Serve with
Hollandaise Sauce
if you wish.

Editor: If you make the soufflé base ahead, dot the surface with about 2 teaspoons of small butter cubes to prevent a skin from forming. Keep at room temperature for no longer than 1 hour. Reheat the base over low heat, stirring constantly, just until warm; do not bring to a simmer or the yolks will curdle.

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

5 tablespoons (½ stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons Cognac

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dash of Tabasco

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon

4 large eggs, separated, plus 2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Softened butter, for the soufflé mold

1 pound crabmeat, picked over for cartilage and shells

Sauté the onion in a large saucepan over medium heat with the 5 tablespoons of butter until soft, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour, then whisk in the tomato paste and cream until smooth. Add the cognac, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and tarragon, and let cool slightly. Whisk in the egg yolks and mix well.

Whip the egg whites in a large bowl until firm but not dry. Fold into the yolk mixture. Butter a 1½-quart soufflé dish. Place half of the crabmeat on the bottom of the dish. Add one-half of the soufflé mixture, then the remaining crabmeat, and the remaining soufflé mixture. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately.

EGGS

Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Poached Eggs

Soft-boiled eggs

Eggs Mollet Hard-boiled Eggs

Oeufs à la Tripe (Hard-boiled Eggs in Onion Sauce)

A Perfect Omelet

Peruvian Eggs

Classic Quiche Lorraine

Swiss Tarte à l’Oignon

Shirred Eggs

Cheese Soufflé

Salmon and Sour Cream Roll

Zucchini Frittata

PERFECT SCRAMBLED EGGS

MAKES 1 SERVING

If you are adding chopped herbs, sliced sautéed mushrooms, chopped sautéed scallions, or grated cheese, lace them in as you scramble the eggs. For finely cut ham or smoked salmon, heat gently in the butter before adding and scrambling the eggs.

2 large eggs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 or 2 dashes of Tabasco

1 teaspoon water (optional)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus softened butter, if desired

Break the eggs into a bowl, add salt, pepper, and Tabasco, and beat lightly with a fork. For lighter scrambled eggs, also beat in the water. If you like your scrambled eggs thick and eggy, don’t use any water.

Melt the butter (a tablespoon for each egg) in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and when hot but not sizzling, pour in the eggs. As soon as the eggs begin to coagulate, start making pushing strokes with a rubber or wooden spatula so you get curds.

Lift the pan off the heat from side to side with a circular motion while you push. As the heat in the eggs increases, the curds will form faster and you will have to keep lifting the pan from the heat and pushing faster. When the curds are soft but not too runny, quickly transfer the eggs to a plate. You have to know exactly when to stop applying heat or the eggs will be overcooked, hard little lumps.

If you want very rich eggs, sometimes called “buttered eggs,” as you push the curds in the pan add small pieces of softened butter, which will melt in and make the eggs taste even more luscious. [
Editor: About 1 tablespoon is sufficient.
]

Poached Eggs

The egg is a perfect object lesson in the techniques of boiling and poaching. To watch a poached egg form is to see a vivid example of the firming action of the cooking process. Eggs for poaching or soft-boiling should be the freshest possible. The fresher the egg, the firmer and more shapely the white of the poached egg will be.

There are many different theories about poaching eggs, but this is the method I have found works best.

Use a skillet or a flat-surfaced pan that is not too deep—this allows you to slip the eggs in easily. Add water to a depth of 2 to 3 inches, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon white distilled or cider vinegar, which helps the whites coagulate. Bring the water to a slow boil in which the bubbles just break the surface, not a fast, rolling boil which would whip the whites away before they could set, giving you a ragged-looking result. Have beside you paper towels or a linen cloth on which to drain the eggs, a slotted spoon or a flat, perforated skimmer for removing them from the water (I find the round, flat, well-perforated skimmer sold in Japanese stores that carry kitchen utensils ideal), and a large spoon for basting.

Break each egg into a tiny cup (such as a Japanese tea cup or a half-cup-size metal measuring cup with a handle), lower the cup into the water, and very quickly tip out the egg, holding the inverted cup there for a second or two to keep the whites from spreading. Don’t try to do too many eggs at one time—two or three, according to the size of your skillet, are about as many as can be handled easily. As soon as all the eggs are in the water, remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs poach very gently in the hot water for 3 to 4 minutes, basting the tops with spoonfuls of hot water if necessary. When the whites are firm and set, and the yolks just filmed with white, remove the eggs with the perforated skimmer and place them on the towels to absorb the excess water.

If you aren’t going to use the eggs right away, lower them gently into a dish of cold water to stop the cooking, then remove, dry on towels, and put on a plate, covered with plastic wrap, until required. If the white is at all ragged, you can trim it with scissors.

OEUFS À LA TRIPE

(HARD-BOILED EGGS IN ONION SAUCE)

MAKES 2 TO 3 SERVINGS

I have never been able to discover the origin of the name of this traditional and exquisitely simple French dish, which I like to serve for breakfast, brunch, a light lunch, or a late supper.