№ 35Zupa ar vēžu pudiņu

Crayfish pudding in broth Serves 4 · about 2 hours · Adapted from the 1796 recipe; not yet tested.

The book gives 2 kāli of crayfish, 2 stopi of milk and 10 + 6 eggs, which converts to about 60 crayfish, 2.55 l and 16 eggs. We've used about two fifths.

Ingredients

For the pudding

• 24 live crayfish, or whole cooked crayfish (see Notes)
• 50 g butter, for frying
• 1 l cold whole milk
• 4 eggs, plus 2 more
• 15 g butter, for the curd
• 40 g soft butter, plus more for the dish
• ¼ tsp ground mace
• ½ tsp salt
• 50 g fine dry white breadcrumbs

For the broth

• 1.25 l meat broth
• 300 g root vegetables, such as carrot, parsley root and celeriac, diced, or 3–4 tbsp cooked pearl barley

Method

1. If the crayfish are live, chill them in the freezer for 20 minutes, then drop them head first, a few at a time, into a large pan of fast-boiling water; they die within seconds. Lift them out after 2 minutes and drain. 2. Pull the dark intestinal thread out of each tail and remove the small stomach sac behind the eyes (our addition). Pound the crayfish, shells and all, in a mortar, or chop them coarsely in a sturdy food processor. 3. Melt the 50 g butter in a wide pan and fry the crayfish over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until the butter turns red. 4. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the cold milk. Stir well, leave for 10 minutes, then strain through a sieve, pressing hard on the shells. Throw the shells away. 5. Whisk the 4 eggs into the crayfish milk, pour it into a saucepan and add the 15 g butter. Heat gently, stirring slowly, until it separates into soft curds and thin whey, like egg cheese. This takes 10–20 minutes. 6. Line a colander with muslin, pour in the curds and leave them to drain for 20–30 minutes. 7. Heat the oven to 180 °C and butter a 1 l ovenproof dish or pudding basin. 8. Put the drained curds into a bowl and mix in the 2 remaining eggs, the 40 g soft butter, the mace, salt and breadcrumbs. Spoon into the dish and smooth the top. 9. Bake for 35–45 minutes, until set and lightly golden; a knife pushed into the centre should come out clean. 10. Meanwhile, simmer the root vegetables in the broth for 15–20 minutes, until tender (or warm the cooked barley in it). 11. Serve the pudding in slices or spoonfuls in warm bowls, with the hot broth poured over.

Notes

• What the book says vs. what we added: the book has you pound the crayfish alive, fry them in butter, pour on cold milk, beat and strain it, beat in eggs and a little butter and heat it until it curdles "like egg cheese", drain the curd, mix it with more eggs, butter, mace, salt and grated bread and bake it in a buttered mould, then pour meat broth with root vegetables or cooked groats over it. Killing the crayfish first, cleaning them, the 10 minutes' infusing, the muslin, the oven temperature and the times are ours.
• Crayfish: the book pounds them alive. We kill them first in boiling water, or you can use whole cooked crayfish (plain rather than in dill brine). Since they're fried straight afterwards, the short boil doesn't change the dish.
• Scaling: the book's 60 crayfish and 16 eggs feed a large table; we've used about two fifths.
• The curd is the step most worth testing. Egg cheese is usually made with more egg per litre, or with a little sour milk; the book's ratio, about 4 eggs per litre, may separate slowly. If nothing has happened after 20 minutes, a squeeze of lemon juice will help (not in the book).
• Variation: the book says some cooks thicken the broth with eggs, which goes well with the pudding. Whisk 2 egg yolks with a ladle of the hot broth and stir them in off the heat.
• Groats: putra in the book is some cooked grain or porridge; pearl barley is our choice.