The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook (4 page)

While the Countess of Grantham might offer the Potatoes with Caviar and Crème Fraîche (see recipe in this chapter) or her eponymous
Moules en Sauce
(see recipe in this chapter), she would likely offer more than one appetizer, including these delicious yet light crab canapés. However, Lady Mary, upon learning her entire inheritance is lost to a total stranger, would match the namesake of this dish by acting quite “crabby.”

48 mini-toasts such as Pride of France

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cup unsalted butter, melted

1
¹
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cups canned crabmeat

¹
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cup mayonnaise

¹
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cup cream cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 dash Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

¹
⁄
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teaspoon white pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   
2. Slather individual toasts with melted butter, thoroughly coating each toast. Place toasts on a lightly oiled baking sheet and toast in oven for 1–2 minutes.
   
3. In a large bowl, blend together crabmeat, mayonnaise, and cream cheese. Once evenly blended, stir in Parmesan cheese, followed by scallions, Old Bay seasoning, sea salt, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, and white pepper. Stir in more salt and pepper to taste.
   
4. Spread crabmeat mixture on individual toasts and arrange evenly on a baking sheet. Bake in the middle of preheated oven until puffed, about 10–15 minutes. Serve warm.
   

The term
canapé
comes from the French word for “couch.” This makes sense if you look at the garnish as a person, sitting on a couch (the bread/pastry). Nonetheless, it is expected that a canapé be salty or spicy, as its job as an appetizer is to increase the guests’ appetites.

While this is an Italian-based dish, its fun feel and mouthwatering texture makes it a classic hors d’oeuvre that everyone — whether upstairs or downstairs — can get behind. While the perceived attitude of the Crawley sisters matches the stuffiness of the mushrooms, a deeper look inside shows that they have warm, perhaps even gooey, hearts — just like these appetizers!

12 whole, fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon extra-virgin oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

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cup green onions, chopped

1
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tablespoons garlic, minced

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

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cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¹
⁄
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teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¹
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teaspoon onion powder

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teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease a medium or large baking sheet.
   
2. Carefully clean mushrooms, removing stems. Chop stems extremely fine.
   
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt olive oil and butter. Add chopped mushroom stems, chopped green onions, and minced garlic, followed by 1 dash Worcestershire sauce. Cook garlic and mushrooms until all moisture has evaporated, being careful to not burn the garlic. Set aside and let cool.
   
4. When garlic, onion, and mushroom-stem mixture is no longer hot to the touch, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Mixture will be thick and difficult to stir.
   
5. Fill mushroom caps with a good amount of stuffing. Sprinkle top of each mushroom cap’s stuffing with Italian bread crumbs. Arrange mushroom caps on prepared baking sheet.
   
6. Bake mushrooms in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until mushrooms are extremely hot and liquid starts to form. Cool slightly and serve.
   

The extravagant Crawleys actually owe frugality for this delicious dish. It was through a lack of ingredients — but a surplus of mushrooms — that Italian chefs and farmers first came up with the concept of stuffed mushrooms. As the nineteenth century wore on, and Italian restaurants realized that many patrons preferred fancy food to the food you may associate with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths, they started offering stuffed mushrooms delicately arranged on plates and filled with a wide range of vegetables and cheeses. Before the Italians could say
Buon appetito
, these delicacies were flying off the table and into their patrons’ mouths!

While this tart is a delicious and unique appetizer offering, it’s likely that Lady Mary would stay away from this particular hors d’oeuvre as it would give her bad breath — and then the charming Pamuk might never want to kiss her.

1
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cups all-purpose flour

³
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cup unsalted butter, chopped into cubes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large onions, sliced

1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped

1 (2-ounce) tube anchovy paste

2 garlic cloves, chopped

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teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

1. To make pastry:
   In a large bowl and using your fingers, blend together flour, butter, and salt, kneading until mixture forms coarse bread crumbs. Add cold water, stirring until fully incorporated. Once again using your hands, squeeze together a small amount of dough — if it does not hold together, add more water a few teaspoons at a time. Be careful not to overwork mixture.
   
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into four equal-sized portions, using the palms of your hands to evenly distribute fat in dough. Gather dough back together, pressing into a ball, then flatten one more time into one 5-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or until firm.
   
3. To make filling:
   Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and sage. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, for 35–40 minutes or until carmelized onions are soft and golden brown.
   
4. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   
5. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together anchovy paste, garlic, sugar, tomato paste, and thyme.
   
6. Roll out chilled dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is a 12- to 13-inch disc. Place disc on a large, parchment paper–covered baking sheet.
   
7. Evenly spread tomato–anchovy paste mixture over dough, leaving a 1
   ¹
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   - to 2-inch border along pastry edge. Arrange caramelized onions on top of tomato–anchovy paste mixture. Fold edges of pastry over. Bake pastry for 45–50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm, preferably presliced.
   

While the thicker nature of this snack might properly label it an entrée, hosts in the Edwardian era were allowed to vary their hors d’oeuvres offerings, especially if the appetizers in question were served at the table or even between meals. To ward off any questioning raised eyebrows, however, anchovies, a popular hors d’oeuvres standard, are added to this pastry.