OYSTER AND CHORIZO PIES

Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Occasionally we get enormous oysters in the restaurant that are way too big to swallow raw and are only good for cooking. They are perfect for making little pies. At home, you may need to order in large oysters from your fishmonger. Chorizo is delicious in the pies but there are several other flavourings you could slip under their pastry lids – bacon, shallots and a little cream would work equally well.

If your fishmonger can’t get large oysters, you can make these pies with regular-sized oysters (they’ll just be miniature), or even use scallop shells with a couple of shucked oysters in each shell.

INGREDIENTS

– 4 very large oysters – 70-80g cooking chorizo, skin removed and finely chopped

– 2 medium shallots,

finely chopped – 2-4 x 320g sheets ready-rolled puff pastry

– 1 egg, beaten – rock salt, to serve

METHOD

To prise open the oysters, lay one in a folded tea towel on the kitchen surface with the flat shell uppermost and the pointed hinge facing towards you. Holding the oyster down with the cloth, force the tip of an oyster knife into the hinge of the shell, carefully moving it from side to side until you can feel the shell loosening – it will take some force.

Keeping the knife in the shell, twist it a little and run it along the top of the shell until you feel the muscle, which attaches the oyster to the shell. Cut through this to detach the top shell. Remove any bits of broken shell that may be on the oyster flesh, but don’t pour away the natural juices. Set it aside in its bottom shell and repeat with the rest of the oysters.

Heat a frying pan and gently cook the chorizo and shallot for 3-4 minutes over a low heat. Add the oyster juices and 2-3 tbsp of water and simmer for a further minute before removing from the heat. Leave to cool. Once cool, spoon the chorizo mixture over the oysters.

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas mark 7.

Unroll the pastry sheets and cut out four shapes, each just slightly larger than the shells to make lids (you might get two lids out of one sheet of pastry, or need more sheets). Brush their edges with the beaten egg.

Cover the oysters and chorizo mix with the pastry lids, egg-washedside down, pressing the edges to each shell to fix them in place. Brush the top and sides of the pastry with more beaten egg.

Place the shells on a baking tray and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden. Make little piles of rock salt on the centre of each serving plate and lightly press an oyster pie into each to stop them from wobbling around. Serve immediately.