Henry, I read The Sea, The Sea because of your suggestion. First time Iris Murdoch reader. I ADORED it. Is there a transcript of this discussion anywhere? Please and thank you.
Thank you very much, I really enjoyed this discussion. I particularly enjoyed your dive in on the food of the book. I have a long running debate with a friend about Araby's recipes. I (gourmandising, impulsive, live-to-eat) contend the recipes must be parodic, and as comic material to demonstrate Charles's absurdity. My friend (healthy, cold-water-swimming, eat-to-live) holds that things like "boiled onions, simply served" are a great pared back aesthetic that makes sense to live by if you've moved to the coast to do nothing but swim all the time.
For "egg poached in scrambled egg" I'd suggest maybe a bain-marie. For omelette farcie, which I read about in Felicity Cloake's A-Z of Eating (I think she based it on a recipe of Daniel Boulud), you make a really foamy, custardy scrambled egg in a bain marie, you have to whisk it constantly, for ages, and then stuff the custard in a buttery omelette. Instead of the omelette, I think cracking the egg into the foamy egg custard, not stirring, covering and leaving for ten minutes might work nicely for "egg in egg". Personally, I'd then add shitloads of butter and flaky salt, but I doubt Araby or Murdoch would.
Henry, I read The Sea, The Sea because of your suggestion. First time Iris Murdoch reader. I ADORED it. Is there a transcript of this discussion anywhere? Please and thank you.
Thank you very much, I really enjoyed this discussion. I particularly enjoyed your dive in on the food of the book. I have a long running debate with a friend about Araby's recipes. I (gourmandising, impulsive, live-to-eat) contend the recipes must be parodic, and as comic material to demonstrate Charles's absurdity. My friend (healthy, cold-water-swimming, eat-to-live) holds that things like "boiled onions, simply served" are a great pared back aesthetic that makes sense to live by if you've moved to the coast to do nothing but swim all the time.
For "egg poached in scrambled egg" I'd suggest maybe a bain-marie. For omelette farcie, which I read about in Felicity Cloake's A-Z of Eating (I think she based it on a recipe of Daniel Boulud), you make a really foamy, custardy scrambled egg in a bain marie, you have to whisk it constantly, for ages, and then stuff the custard in a buttery omelette. Instead of the omelette, I think cracking the egg into the foamy egg custard, not stirring, covering and leaving for ten minutes might work nicely for "egg in egg". Personally, I'd then add shitloads of butter and flaky salt, but I doubt Araby or Murdoch would.