Crayfish Cream

Ingredients
1 cooked Crayfish
1 oz Butter
3/4 oz Flour
1/2 pint Milk
1 Egg Yolk
Lemon Juice
Salt And Pepper
Breadcrumbs
Cheese
Parsley

Method

For this hot crayfish dish, the crayfish must be halved carefully, the shell to be kept intact. Saw down the middle of the back, then right though the crayfish. Remove the meat from each half, break off most of the claws, and remove the meat from them.

Break all the meat up thoroughly, then mix it with a rich white sauce, a little lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Grated cheese and a little mixed mustard may be used for flavouring if liked. Season well with pepper and salt. Return the meat to the two halves of the shell, coat the top with breadcrumbs (mixed with grated cheese if cheese has been used to flavour the sauce), dot with butter and put into a hot oven for about 10 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown.

Serve garnished with a few claws containing meat, and with thin slices of lemon and some young tips of parsley.

To make a rich white sauce, melt butter, stir it into flour, cook for a few minutes, then stir in gradually half a pint of milk. Stir till thick, remove from fire, then stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Season as desired.