Recipe for "oyster-soup"

NAME

     OYSTER-SOUP - Chicken  broth  with  artichokes  and  poached
     oysters
     This is a modern cajun-style recipe that I  adapted  from  a
     local  convenience-food  cookbook  by  Jean Durkee.  It's an
     intriguing combination of modern American  ingredients  with
     traditional cajun flavorings.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

     90 g      butter, melted.
     120 g     shallots (chopped fine)
     5 ml      thyme
     1         bay leaf
     2.5 ml    cayenne pepper
     30 ml     flour
     400 ml    chicken broth (more or less won't hurt)
     1 l       oysters Drained; reserve liquid. Or use  less,  to
               taste.
     400 g     cooked artichoke hearts
     10 ml     salt
     1 ml      tabasco sauce
     120 ml    whipping cream
     50 l      parsley (chopped fresh)

PROCEDURE

          (1)  In a 3-liter casserole, melt  butter  and  saut  e
               shallots.   When  shallots  are  translucent,  add
               thyme, bay leaf, and cayenne  pepper.   Add  flour
               and whisk well.
          (2)  Add broth, oyster water, artichoke  hearts,  salt,
               and tabasco. Bring to a boil.
          (3)  Add oysters and parsley. Simmer on medium,  partly
               covered,  for exactly 5 minutes. Add whipped cream
               and serve immediately.

NOTES

     Fresh parsley tastes much better than dried parsley.  If the
     oysters  are  bigger  than  a  small  bite-size, cut them up
     before adding them to the soup. Use the smallest oysters you
     can find.
     When I'm not making a double  recipe,  I  usually  dump  the
     entire  250-ml  container  of  whipping cream into the soup,
     even though that's double what the recipe calls form.
     The timing on cooking the oysters is  fairly  critical.   If
     you overcook them, they will be rubbery.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 20 minutes.  Precision: measure the
     spices.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Deborah Pedersen
     Microelectronics Computer Corporation, Austin TX
     pedersen@mcchi2.ARPA