Spirit of the sea
Freshly shucked oysters are one of life’s great pleasures, so don’t miss out, writes Neil Forbes of Cafe St Honoré
Ihave a good food memory and can recall what people ate at dinners 30 years ago. I can clearly remember oysters given to me by chef Michael Smith on Skye a few years ago. They were bigger than I had ever seen. Sweet, salty, clean, iodine-fresh and just right.
For some, the mere thought of an oyster is enough to have them running for the hills but I adore these little bivalve molluscs. If you were to ask me to describe the taste of a raw oyster for an oyster virgin, I would say: close your eyes and imagine you are on holiday, relaxing on a beach with the sound of the surf lapping against the shore. There is a pier nearby and you walk towards it and without hesitation dive into the sea. As you surface and take a breath, you shake the saline, salty water from your head – that to me is what an oyster tastes like. Creamy and rich with the taste of the sea. I love them freshly shucked with nothing else, but they must be released from the shell so they are easy to swallow.
I once read that the Royal Mile in Edinburgh was built on a mound of oyster shells and looking further back in time, the Romans were farming oysters for the table 2,000 years ago. They were a cheap source of protein to add to pies and far less expensive than beef.
Nutritionally they are high in zinc, iron and calcium, and strong in vitamin A and B12. And some say they are an aphrodisiac, though I’m not going to comment. n
@chefneilforbes
Oysters with Worcestershire sauce and tabasco
I worked in Australia 25 years ago where oysters are hugely popular. I recall a delicious dish called Oysters Kilpatrick. All the elements of that dish are included in this recipe – shellfish, bacon, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and others, but it’s my own take on it. It doesn’t really need much else, even lemon isn’t required, but a big Bloody Mary or a Guinness would be amazing.
Serves four
Allow 3 to 6 oysters per person as a starter, 12 for a main course 150g piece of good air-dried bacon, cut into very small lardons 2 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil 3-4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2-3 tsp tabasco sauce a twist of pepper coarse salt to rest the shells on
1 Have a go at shucking the oysters yourself. Go online and watch a tutorial, or ask your fishmonger to do it for you. Retain each oyster in half the shell.
2 Add the oil to a solid frying pan and bring to a moderate heat. Add the bacon and fry until just starting to crisp up, keeping it moving all the time. It’ll take 5 minutes or so.
3 While the bacon cooks, turn the grill on full heat. Top each oyster with bacon and place in an oven-proof dish. To make the sauce, combine the Worcestershire sauce and tabasco, season and drizzle over each oyster. Place under the hot grill for 3 to 5 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the oysters are just cooked.
4 Serve at once on plates of coarse salt alongside a big salad and bread.
Chicken liver salad
Chicken livers are an astonishingly inexpensive way of eating offal. I adore them either in a pâté or pan fried. I like them served pink but that might not be for everyone. What they do need is some form of piquancy. Sherry vinegar and shallots work well but use what you have – mustard and capers go superbly. Serve with a big salad and crusty bread.
Serves four 200g cleaned chicken livers 2 banana shallots, peeled 4 handfuls of various salad leaves (eg watercress, spinach, rocket) 100ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil 1 tbsp sherry vinegar 1-2 tsp mustard of your choice, optional 1 knob of butter capers as garnish, optional sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1 To make the dressing, finely chop the shallots and place into a pot with 75ml of the rapeseed oil and cook gently on a low heat for a couple of minutes. Then add the sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Set to one side.
2 Wash the salad, pat dry and arrange onto 4 plates or a platter.
3 Heat a cast iron frying pan until smoking and add the remaining oil. Season the livers with salt and pepper and fry until golden. Add a knob of butter and cook until medium – a little pink inside.
4 Once the dressing is cool, whisk in the mustard.
5 Arrange the livers on the salad leaves and spoon over the dressing and garnish with a few capers.
Iced elderberry parfait
Before you all start writing in saying “Neil, elderberries aren’t in season!” I get a glut of these berries in autumn and make syrups from them. Or if no elderberry syrup is to hand, try Aelder liquor made from elderberries foraged from East Lothian by a local, independent business. A simple syrup is equal quantities of fruit and sugar with enough water to make a liquid. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes, pass through a fine sieve and store in sterilised jars or bottles. It freezes well. Use as much as you see fit in the recipe here. It ends up as a rich, inky purple syrup – like something Violet Beauregarde would have made in Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory.
Makes four to six portions 100g elderberries 100g caster sugar 100ml water 5 egg yolks 150g caster sugar 125ml water 2 leaves of gelatine, optional 500ml double cream a splash of elderberry liqueur, optional langue du chat biscuits or shortbread for serving
Boil the elderberries with 100g of caster sugar and 100ml water to make a fruit syrup. Pass through a fine sieve and chill.
2 Bring 150g of sugar and 125ml of water to the boil in a large pot and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until it reaches 121C. If you can’t test with a probe thermometer, drop a small amount on a cold surface using a teaspoon. If it rolls around in your fingers it is at soft-ball stage, but be warned it is very hot. Allow the syrup to cool slightly before using in the next stage.
3 Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with an electric whisk and slowly trickle in the syrup, whisking all the time. Continue to whisk for around 5 minutes until it is light yet thick and voluminous.
4 In a clean bowl, whisk the cream until just thick, or ribbon stage, so it will still fall from the whisk.
5 Melt the gelatine in the syrup pan and whisk in the egg yolk mix. Then add the cream a little at a time by folding in gently using a big spoon. Ensure all is combined before adding the elderberry syrup. It is very strong so no need to add it all. Add the liqueur if required and give a last mix with a whisk.
6 Pour the mix into cling film-lined terrine mould and freeze overnight. The next day remove from the freezer and re-wrap in a sheet of grease-proof paper. It will store better and prevent the cling film from sticking when you cut it. It will store for 2 to 3 months in the freezer.
7 Serve with langue du chat biscuits or shortbread.