20 April 2005

"If you don't love life you can't enjoy an oyster; there is a shock of freshness to it and intimations of the ages of man, some piercing intuition of the sea and all its weeds and breezes. They shiver you for a split second."- Eleanor Clark

The onset of autumn may be bad news for some people, but to oyster aficionados it signals a culinary nirvana: the Bluff oyster season.

During the five to six month season, 7.5 million oysters will be harvested for local and export markets, with more than 600,000 of those being retailed by Pacific Catch, at the Auckland Fish Market.

Auckland Fish Market Manager Nigel Thomas reports "huge interest" in the oysters, both through the Pacific Catch shop and via the market's daily auction to the trade.

Said by some to be the finest oysters in the world, Bluff oysters are grown slowly in the cold clean waters of the Foveaux Strait. Opinion varies on how best to enjoy them: au natural, or complemented by a sauce or seasoning.

Some people swear by a squeeze of lemon, or splash of good quality balsamic vinegar or shallot vinegar with a grind of black pepper. Dropping Japanese mayonnaise on to the oyster still in its shell, sprinkling it with breadcrumbs and placing it under the grill for five minutes is another tasty idea. Try the following recipe if you want something a little more substantial:

Warm Oyster and Witloof salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Oysters
1 dozen bluff Oysters - in shell*
Flour for dusting
40g butter
40ml olive oil
 
Witloof
4 pieces witloof (you can substitute rocket or mixed baby leaves, if desired)
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
20g butter
80ml canola oil
New Zealand sea salt
Black pepper

To Serve:
Italian parsley
Lemons

Method
If using witloof, slice it in half lengthways and place on a tray cut side up, sprinkle generously with sea salt and leave for one hour.

Wash the salt off and place in a shallow braising pan, season with freshly ground black pepper. Pour in the stock, canola oil and add the butter and cover tightly with a lid (or tinfoil).

Cook in a moderate over for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, take off lid and allow to cool slightly. Then remove the witloof from stock and keep warm.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium sized fry pan.

Remove oysters from their shells, season with a little flour and add to the pan and gently fry for one minute on each side; remove and place on absorbent paper.

Deglaze the oyster pan with a knob of the remaining butter, a squeeze of lemon juice and roughly chopped parsley.

Put each oyster back in its shell and place one or three leaves of the warm witloof on top of each oyster. Arrange oysters on a plate and pour the sauce over.

Serve immediately.

* If you are unable to obtain oysters in their shell, arrange them in a long line on a narrow rectangular plate or pile them on a square sushi plate and place the witloof (or salad) leaves and sauce on top.