| The Music Scene Vol. 1 No. 1 | | | Abduction of Smoked Salmon Crisps in a Crab Seraglio by Lucie Renaud Tuesday, October 22, 2002
La cena musicale/The Musical
Table Recipe by Jean Soulard, Executive Chef at Quebec City''s
Chateau
Frontenac
Ingredients
- 8 slices smoked salmon
- 30 g (1 oz) melted butter
- 12 phyllo pastry dough circles (7,5 cm--3"
diameter)
- 250 ml (1 cup) sour cream
- 240 g (8 oz) crabmeat
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 10 strands chopped dill
- Milled salt & pepper
Garnish
- strands of dill
- 30 g (1 oz) salmon roe
- Melt the butter. Layer 3 sheets of phyllo dough one on top
of the other brushing each with a small amount of melted butter. Cut out 12
circles (7,5 cm--3" diameter) with a pastry cutter. Place on a baking plate and
bake in the oven at 350?F (180?C) for 4 to 5 minutes. Watch closely as this
dough bakes very quickly.
- Mix the sour cream, flaked crabmeat, lemon juice, chopped
dill, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Prepare the crisps on each of the plates by placing the
smoked salmon and the crab cream on one of the phyllo crust circles. Repeat the
operation ending with a layer of phyllo crust.
- Decorate using the dill strands and salmon roe.
J.Soulard: As soon as you take the phyllo dough out of its
wrapping, quickly brush with melted butter because phyllo dough dries very
quickly. If the operation takes time, protect the roll of phyllo dough with a
humid cloth once it has been taken out of the wrapper.
Suggested wine: Graves (on
lees), at least 3 years of age.
The Inspiration Behind the Recipe
Jean Soulard, executive chef at the Ch?teau Frontenac, is
well known to the gourmets, who relish both his writings (two years ago, he
published a lavishly illustrated and tastefully accessible recipe book called
Naturellement, where this recipe can be found) and television appearances
(the program "Cuisinez avec Jean Soulard" broadcast on Canal Vie).
His dishes are delicious and they are relatively easy to make, as the preceding
recipe illustrates.
Master Soulard admits that the inspiration for his recipes
comes to him very naturally in the most unlikely places, frequently during his
daily jogging. In this case, he decided to call one of his preparations
"Abduction of Smoked Salmon Crisps in a Crab Seraglio" after listening to
Mozart''s Abduction from the Seraglio. He admits to having eclectic
musical tastes ranging from classical music (including the more contemporary
repertoire) to the rave music his daughter has him listen to sometimes. His long
car trips put him in touch with music since it is naturally out of the question
to play music in the kitchen in the full effervescence of hotel
life.
The Mozart Work that Inspired the Recipe
In 1781, when Mozart started composing the three-act
singspiel Die Entf?rung aus dem Serail, he wasn''t yet the renowned opera
composer he was to become. Nobody took him all that seriously at the time of the
very successful Munich premi?re some time earlier of his Idomeo, r? di
Creta. He hinted to those around him that he was very intent on composing an
opera, while spending his time in good company, flirting with Constanze Weber,
his landlady''s daughter. Suddenly, on August 1, 1781, luck came knocking! He
wrote the following to his father Leopold: "Two days ago Stephanie junior gave
me a libretto for me to write some music. The libretto is quite interesting. The
subject matter is Turkish and the title is Belmonte und Constanze or Die
Verf?rung aus dem Serail." This slip by Mozart who wrote
"Verf?rung"(seduction) instead of "Entf?rung" (abduction) has amused a number of
biographers ever since!
It is quite possible that the subject of the opera was
suggested by Emperor Joseph II himself, since the work was due to be created
during a state visit by Russian Grand Duke Paul Petrovitch to Vienna to
negotiate a secret alliance allowing Austria and Russia to take over a
substantial part of the Ottoman Empire.
After numerous rewriting sessions, the premi?re finally took
place to loud applause and whistling on July 16, 1782, at Vienna''s Burgtheater.
A number of critics complained about the scantiness of the libretto and the poor
level of the poetry but Die Entf?rung aus dem Serail was to remain the
best appreciated opera during Mozart''s lifetime. No doubt this was due to the
images of exotic adventures conjured up by the subject matter as well as the
fascination of his contemporaries for Turkish harems.
Additional Reading
Mozart : L''enl?vement au s?rail. "Op?ras" Collection,
Bleu nuit Publishers, in co-operation with the Rhine National Opera. In it, a
synopsis of Mozart''s opera is included in French and German along with photos of
the 1997 Rhine Opera Production and texts by William Christie, Stephen Lawless,
Jean and Brigitte Massin and a number of other leading figures of the Mozart
repertory. A chronology is included as well as excerpts from Mozart''s
correspondence. Finally, certain Turkish recipes are suggested for the gourmets.
*
[Translated by Alexandre
Lebedeff]
Upcoming Engagements:
The opera will be performed by l''Op?ra de Qu?bec. March 8,
11, 13 and 15, 2003.
| |
|