Artichoke and Bacon Baked Oysters
Chef Ross Derrick, The Table at Codfathers
A delicious spin on Oysters Rockefeller, these crowd pleasers make the perfect party food or starter to any style of meal.
Ingredients:
12 large beach oysters, shucked
½ cup shallot, finely diced
6 strips smoked bacon, diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
10 oz spinach
1-14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sprigs fresh thyme, picked from stems
¼ cup cream
Topping:
1-cup panko breadcrumbs, toasted
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated with a microplane
1 tbsp butter, softened
Method:
In a heavy bottomed pot, slowly cook the bacon until the fat begins to render. Add the shallots and garlic, cook until the shallots are translucent, and the bacon crisp. Season. Add the artichokes hearts, thyme, and spinach. Once the spinach has cooked down, add the cream. Season and taste.
Remove from heat and spoon the mixture into the shucked oysters.
Combine all of the topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of the filled oysters.
Bake at 350º for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Slammin’ Oyster Soup
Soup Sisters/Broth Brothers Cookbook
This soup is perfect served at a rustic lunch with a big piece of crusty bread or is elegant enough to make a beautiful starter for a special dinner. How should an oyster taste: “Like kissing the sea on the lips.”
French Poet Léon-Paul Fargu
Ingredients:
16 ounces fresh shucked oysters (2 -8 ounce containers)
2 -3 tbsp butter
½ cup minced celery
½ cup minced onion or shallots
2 slices diced crispy bacon
1 cup homogenized milk
1 ½ cups cream
salt & pepper to taste
Garnish with smoked paprika and chopped chives
Method
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the celery and onions until tender.
Pour half-and-half and milk into a large pot over medium-high and heat.
Mix into the pot the butter, celery, onion mixture and the bacon stirring continuously.
When the mixture is ALMOST boiling (do not boil), pour the oysters and their liquid into the pot and continue to stir until the oysters curl at the ends-this means they are finished cooking
Remove from heat – season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with snipped chives and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.
Grilled Oysters with Porcini and Goat Cheese
Bill Jones is a renowned French-trained chef and author of 10 cookbooks including The Deerholme Mushroom Book. Legendary for his foraging knowledge and innovative recipes, The Deerholme Mushroom Book is a must for mushroom lovers with plenty of seafood and other delicious recipes inspired from his farm by the sea in the Cowichan Valley.
Beach oysters are large, mature oysters that are sold for grilling on the barbecue. You can substitute shucked oysters that are available in tubs. Poach the shucked oysters in their juice for 2 minutes first and then transfer to a gratin dish. This dish also works well with truffle paste added to the béchamel. Serve with slices of baguette or crusty bread.
Preheat a barbecue to high. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1 recipe – Porcini béchamel sauce (right)
12 large beach oysters
½ cup (125 mL) soft goat cheese, crumbled
1 Tbsp (15 mL) fresh chives, minced
Prepare the béchamel according to the directions. Place whole oysters on the barbecue and heat until they pop open. Transfer to a baking tray and open. Use a towel to shield your hands from the heat and from any shards of oyster shell.
Add 2 spoonfuls of béchamel to each oyster shell and top with the goat cheese and chives. Return to the barbecue and close the lid. Cook oysters for 5 minutes, or until the sauce is warmed through and bubbles. The goat cheese may not melt but will be warm. Oysters can be placed under a broiler to brown, if desired. Serve hot with bread to scoop the sauce and oysters onto.
Porcini Béchamel Sauce:
Béchamel is a mother sauce that can be used in a number of preparations. The sauce will thicken as it sits. Thin down with additional milk if necessary to achieve a pourable consistency. You can also make a gluten-free version using rice flour or tapioca flour.
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Butter
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Flour
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Porcini powder
(p. 73 of The Deerholme Mushroom Book)
2 cups (500 mL) Milk (or half milk and half stock)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Makes about 2 cups (500 mL)
Method
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add the butter. Heat until sizzling, then add the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the porcini powder and stir to mix. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat until smooth and thick. Season well with salt and pepper.
Sweet & Sour Cucumber Sorbet
(perfect for Kusshi Oysters)
Chef Jason Leizert – partner/executive chef of The Revival Group
Chef Jason Leizert is partner/executive chef of The Revival Group that include the new Pilgrim & Pearl – the first oyster bar in the Okanagan! It will feature a changing menu of 10-12 types of oysters from BC, the East Coast of Canada, Washington State and Internationally and it will feature a steam and shuck station.
Here is a taste of what delights the Pilgrim & Pearl have in store for your taste buds!
Ingredients:
12 Kusshi oysters
1 large English cucumber (skin on, seeds removed)
500 ml simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
2 Lemons, juiced
2 tsp Kosher salt
150 ml *Mirin
350 ml Rice wine vinegar
Method
Juice cucumbers and pass through fine mesh strainer.
Mix all ingredients together (except the oysters).
Turn in an ice cream machine (if you don’t have an ice cream machine you can place in a shallow pan and freeze, making sure to mix it every half hour till frozen).
Shuck oyster, making sure to loosen from the shell.
Top with Sorbet and enjoy!
*Mirin: A low alcohol, sweet rice wine available in the Asian ingredients section of your grocery store.