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Baked Oysters Topped With Anise - Flavored Green Sauce
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| What You Need: |
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Rock salt
2 dozen large oysters, shucked, with all their liquor and the deeper halves of their shells reserved
Fresh or bottled clam broth
3 cups coarsely chopped scallions, including the green tops
3 cups coarsely chopped fresh parsley, preferably the flat-leaf Italian variety
1½ pounds fresh spinach, washed, trimmed, patted dry with paper towels and torn into 1-inch pieces
¾ pound unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch bits
4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
¾ cup flour
3 tablespoons anchovy paste
¾ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup Herbsaint or Pernod
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the rock salt to a depth of about ½ inch in four 8-or 9-inch pie pans. Arrange the pans on baking sheets and set them in the oven to heat the salt while you prepare the oysters.
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2. Drain the oysters and their liquor through a fine sieve lined with a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Measure and reserve 3 cups of the oyster liquor. (If there is less than 3 cups, add fresh or bottled clam broth to make up that amount.) Transfer the oysters to a bowl. Scrub the oyster shells, then pat them dry with paper towels.
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3. Put the scallions, parsley and spinach through the finest blade of a meat grinder, and set aside. In a 2- to 3-quart enameled or stainless-steel saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat, stirring so that it melts evenly without browning.
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4. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so, then add the flour and mix well. Stirring constantly with a wire whisk, pour in the 3 cups of oyster liquor in a slow, thin stream and cook over high heat until the sauce comes to a boil, thickens heavily and is smooth.
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5. Stir in the anchovy paste, red pepper and salt. Then add the ground scallions, parsley and spinach, and reduce the heat to low. Stirring occasionally, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in the spoon. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Herbsaint or Pernod and taste for seasoning.
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6. Arrange six oyster shells in each of the salt-lined pans and place an oyster in each shell. Spoon the sauce over the oysters, dividing it equally among them. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the sauce is delicately browned and the oysters begin to curl at the edges. Serve the oysters Rockefeller at once, directly from the baking pans.
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NOTE:
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While the bed of salt helps to keep the shells from tipping and, if heated beforehand, will keep the oysters hot, it is not indispensable.
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You may, if you like, bake the oysters in any shallow pan large enough to hold the shells in one layer, and serve them from a heated platter.
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To Serve: 4 as a first course
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