Down Home Oyster Pie A La Rockefeller Recipe
Ingredients
| One 10-ounce package frozen leaf spinach, cooked according to package directions | ||
| Vegetable oil | 2 Tablespoon | |
| Shallots | 2 , chopped | |
| 1 stalk celery, finely diced | ||
| 2 1/2 tablespoons butter or low-cholesterol margarine | ||
| Flour | 1/4 Cup (16 tbs) | |
| 1 1/2 cups very hot milk | ||
| 1 teaspoon anisette (small but essential) | ||
| 1/4 teaspoon each dried tarragon, white pepper, and salt | ||
| 1 pint of shucked oysters, well-drained | ||
| Pastry for a 2-crust pie (the oil pastry preferred) | ||
Directions
Put the drained spinach in a 9-inch pie pan or a straight-sided glass dish of the same size.
Use a knife and fork to chop it coarse.
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the oil and saute the shallots and celery until they are softened.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and sprinkle them over the spinach.
Melt the butter with the oil remaining inthe same pan.
Stir in the flour, and cook the roux over very low heat for 3 minutes.
Add the hot milk all at once, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until the sauce bubbles and thickens.
It will be very thick.
Blend in the anisette, tarragon, white pepper, and salt.
Pour the sauce over the spinach, lifting the vegetable a bit so that the sauce will slide underneath.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Do not chill the mixture.
With the back of a spoon, make little "nests" in the thickened sauce for the oysters.
Place the drained oysters over the spinach.
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Use about three-quarters of the pastry to roll out a thicker-than-usual top crust that overhangs the rim of the pan by a half-inch all around.
Turn the overhang under, and secure the crust to the edge of the pan by pressing it down with the tines of a fork.
If desired, glaze the pastry by brushing on beaten egg or prepared egg substitute.
Cut vents in the crust to allow steam to escape.
Bake the pie in the top third of the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce has been bubbling for 5 minutes (to cook the oysters).
Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.
Use a knife and fork to chop it coarse.
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the oil and saute the shallots and celery until they are softened.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and sprinkle them over the spinach.
Melt the butter with the oil remaining inthe same pan.
Stir in the flour, and cook the roux over very low heat for 3 minutes.
Add the hot milk all at once, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until the sauce bubbles and thickens.
It will be very thick.
Blend in the anisette, tarragon, white pepper, and salt.
Pour the sauce over the spinach, lifting the vegetable a bit so that the sauce will slide underneath.
Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Do not chill the mixture.
With the back of a spoon, make little "nests" in the thickened sauce for the oysters.
Place the drained oysters over the spinach.
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Use about three-quarters of the pastry to roll out a thicker-than-usual top crust that overhangs the rim of the pan by a half-inch all around.
Turn the overhang under, and secure the crust to the edge of the pan by pressing it down with the tines of a fork.
If desired, glaze the pastry by brushing on beaten egg or prepared egg substitute.
Cut vents in the crust to allow steam to escape.
Bake the pie in the top third of the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce has been bubbling for 5 minutes (to cook the oysters).
Let it stand 5 minutes before serving.
Chef
