Scalloped Oysters

Today, my friends, I will walk you through the steps of creating a perfect béchamel sauce as part of a dish of scalloped oysters.  If sauces previously bewildered you (and I know they did me, let's not talk about my first attempt at a caramel sauce), I hope I can clear away some of the confusion.

Béchamel sauce is one of the five "mother" sauces in French cooking.  It's often used as a base sauce for a more "complicated" sauce such as Mornay (béchamel with cheese).  This version of a béchamel sauce is actually a combination of traditional béchamel and velouté sauces.  This sauce will serve as the "base" for your scalloped oysters.

Now that we're done being pretentious, here's the ingredient list:

This Nom Needs:
1 can boiled oysters
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (preferably medium to sharp)
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp butter or oil (for greasing)
Four 3 inch-round ramekins or other oven-safe bowl

For the sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped yellow or white onion
1 tbsp brown rice flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (use white pepper if you want to be a purist)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne

First, grease your ramekins with the butter or oil set aside for that purpose.

Next, divide the canned oysters into each ramekin. The oysters should cover the bottom almost entirely.

Next, start the sauce. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, melt butter.

Next, add the onion to the pan. Let it cook for a minute in the butter.
Then, add the flour and whisk mixture together. It should look a pale golden-brown.


Slowly add the cream and then the broth, whisking constantly while you do so.



Add the garlic and cayenne. Whisk the mixture constantly -- if you leave it and it's allowed to form lumps, the sauce is ruined and you will have to start again. Cook the sauce about 5-6 minutes on medium heat, or until thick (it should be the consistency of heavy cream or slightly thicker). Take the sauce off the heat and pour it over the oysters. It should almost cover them.
Next, take the cheese and top each ramekin off.

Set the oven to broil. Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and let broil in the oven about 2-3 minutes (until cheese on top is bubbly and starting to brown), then remove from oven. Sprinkle with paprika and serve!
Makes: 2 servings as a main course, 4 servings as an appetizer
Calories per serving: 455 as a main course (2 ramekins) -- please note that this is not an extremely low-carb dish and is not appropriate for people in extreme carb-restrictive phases of Atkins, etc. What else you're getting: Protein, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium, as well as Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. You're also getting small amounts of calcium from the butter & cream, and a small dose of magnesium, phosphorus, panthothenic acid, B6, niacin, thiamin, and vitamin E from the rice flour.
A note for those of you who do not like oysters: other seafood, such as shrimp or scallops, works really well in this dish. Just make sure whatever seafood you use is pre-cooked!