What exactly is the "ice mold" in this dish?

You freeze a layer of water about 2 cm thick in a round mold by setting a smaller mold (weighted down) inside the large one. When the water has frozen, the small mold is filled with warm water and lifted out, leaving an ice bowl with a hollow. The opening is lined with lettuce leaves, and the cold, opened oysters and celery moistened with French salad sauce are placed in it. That is why the total time is long – the freezing takes time.

How is the sauce that accompanies it made?

Melt/stir together 40 g butter, 40 g wheat flour, 3 dl water, ½ dl lemon juice, 1 tsp mustard and a pinch of salt in a pot. Stir until it boils, take it off the heat, cool and then stir in the egg yolk. Alternatively, the dish can be served with real mayonnaise – yellow, green or red.

Where does the recipe come from?

From Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), page 443, in the chapter on salads, omelets and side dishes. It counts as a starter and serves 4.

Oysters à la reine Margot

Name: Oysters à la reine Margot
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 5 h 15 min
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Norwegian
Ingredients: 24 pcs oysters (opened, ice-cold); 3 pcs celery stalks (in thin strips); 1 handful lettuce leaves (to line the opening in the ice mold); 3 tbsp French salad dressing (oil, vinegar, salt and pepper); 40 g butter (for the sauce); 40 g wheat flour (for the sauce); 3 dl water; 0.5 dl lemon juice; 1 pcs egg yolk; 1 tsp mustard; 1 pinch salt; oil (to taste, for the sauce)

A cold party starter from Erken's Stor kokebok 1914: opened oysters and celery in French dressing arranged in a homemade ice mold lined with lettuce leaves, and served with a cooked lemon-mustard sauce enriched with egg yolk, or with mayonnaise.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 443 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

An elegant, French-inspired cold starter from Erken's chapter on salads, omelets and side dishes. Oysters were served in a homemade ice mold — a common festive presentation in middle-class Norwegian homes around 1914, before the age of the refrigerator.

How to make it

1
Make the ice mold
Set a smaller mold down inside a larger, round mold and place something heavy in the small mold so it stays in place. Fill the large mold with water to about 2 cm height and set it to freeze.
2
Release the inner mold
When the water has frozen, fill the smaller mold with warm water and lift it out, so that an opening is left in the ice.
3
Cook the sauce
Put everything for the sauce except the egg yolk in a pot and stir until it boils. Take the pot off the heat.
4
Finish the sauce
Cool the sauce and stir in the egg yolk. Season with oil and more spices as desired.
5
Arrange
Line the opening in the ice mold with green lettuce leaves. Mix the opened, cold oysters and the celery with French salad dressing and fill it into the opening.
6
Serve
Serve at once with the cooled sauce, or with real mayonnaise — yellow, green or red.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to modern units (deciliters, grams, teaspoon). The quantity of oysters and celery is not given in the original and has been estimated. "French salad sauce" has been specified as an oil-and-vinegar dressing. The method has been divided into numbered steps.

In stores now

Clean, minimally processed groceries matched to the ingredients — approximate prices.

Smør
- Lurpak Dansk Smør 200 gLurpakca. kr 30,80 · Oda
- Hodne Søren Så Godt Smør 250gHODNE SØRENca. kr 67,90 · Coop

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Tidsmaskin – hva endret seg?

Velg to utgaver og se hva Henriette Schønberg Erken la til, fjernet eller endret mellom dem.

Fra1914 1949 Modernisert

Til1914 1949 Modernisert

1914 (korrekturlest, s. 443) → 1949 (korrekturlest, s. 501)~79% av teksten endretfjernetlagt til

(Huitres à la reine Margot.) Østers selleri ~~mayonnaise Saus: 40 gr. smør 40 gr. hvetemel 3 del. vand ½ del. citronsaft 1 eggeblomme 1 teske sennep 1 knivsod salt.~~ majones. Frys 2 cm. høit ~~vand~~ vann i en rund form ~~paa~~ på følgende ~~maate: Sæt~~ måte; Sett en mindre form, belastet med noget tungt, op i den større form. ~~Fyld~~ Fyll den store form med ~~vand~~ vann ca. 2 cm. høit og la det fryse. Naar dette er frosset, fyldes den mindre form med varmt vand og tages ut. Dæk aapningen med grønne blade — salatblade — og fyld denne med de aapnede, kolde østers og stangselleri, dynket med fransk salatsaus. Serveres med følgende saus eller egte mayonnaise, gul, grøn eller rød: Alt undtagen eggeblommen haves i en gryte og røres i, til det koker, tages av ilden, avkjøles og irøres eggeblommen. Olje og mere krydderier efter smak.

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Frequently asked questions

What exactly is the "ice mold" in this dish?: You freeze a layer of water about 2 cm thick in a round mold by setting a smaller mold (weighted down) inside the large one. When the water has frozen, the small mold is filled with warm water and lifted out, leaving an ice bowl with a hollow. The opening is lined with lettuce leaves, and the cold, opened oysters and celery moistened with French salad sauce are placed in it. That is why the total time is long – the freezing takes time.
How is the sauce that accompanies it made?: Melt/stir together 40 g butter, 40 g wheat flour, 3 dl water, ½ dl lemon juice, 1 tsp mustard and a pinch of salt in a pot. Stir until it boils, take it off the heat, cool and then stir in the egg yolk. Alternatively, the dish can be served with real mayonnaise – yellow, green or red.
Where does the recipe come from?: From Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), page 443, in the chapter on salads, omelets and side dishes. It counts as a starter and serves 4.

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