OYSTER STEWS (1685)
STEWED OYSTERS
The Accomplisht Cook (1685) Robert May
TO STEW OYSTERS IN THE FRENCH WAY.
Take oysters, open them and parboil them in their own liquor, the quantity of three pints or a bottle; being parboil'd, wash them in warm water clean from the dregs, beard them and put them in a pipkin with a little white wine, & some of the liquor they were parboii'd in, a whole onion, some salt, and pepper, and stew them till they be half done; then put them and their liquor into a frying-pan, fry them a pretty while, put to them a good piece of sweet butter, and fry them a therein so much longer, then have ten or twelve yolks of eggs dissolved with some vinegar, wherein you must put in some minced parsley, and some grated nutmeg, put these ingredients into the oysters, shake them in the frying-pan a warm or two, and serve them up.
TO STEW OYSTERS OTHERWAYS.
Take a pottle of large great oysters, parboil them in their own liquor, then wash them in warm water from the dregs, & put them in a pipkin with a good big onion or two, and five or six blades of large mace, a little whole pepper, a slic't nutmeg, a quarter of a pint of white wine, as much wine-vinegar, a quarter of a pound of sweet butter, and a little salt, stew them finely together on a soft fire the space of half an hour, then dish them on sippets of French bread, slic't lemon on them, and barberries, run them over with beaten butter, and garnish the dish with dryed manchet grated and searsed.
|