Hello friends, through the last post I had so many questions about french food, french recipes, french lifestyle that I decided to post from time to time some information about their food culture. Even if we can’t use most of it here in Uruguay, we still have a lot of interest in many other parts of the wide world.
Fried oysters with egg and flour is a common dish in Malaysia and Singapore. Often served on a banana leave and dipped in a spicy chilli sauce. Pic Wikipedia.
History.
In Greek antiquity oysters were highly valued as a delicacy. The love goddess Aphrodite, born of the foam of the sea, was associated with the oyster. This led to the myth of the aphrodisiac effect of the oysters, which continues to be felt today. One of the earliest known references of consuming oysters found in literature is by Matron of Pitane (Greek poet c. 4th century before Christ).
Boilly drawing „The Oysters Eater“. Pic Wikipedia.
In ancient Rome oysters were very popular and could not be missed on festive occasions. From this time also reach us the first reports of oyster gluttony. Emperor Vitellius is said to have devoured 1.000 oysters during a meal. Excessive oyster consumption remained a popular pleasure for the next 2.000 years. Since oysters have very low calorific value, very large amounts can actually be consumed, but many of the historical reports are nevertheless exaggerated. And – to this day – people like oysters or they don’t !
Slurping Oysters, dutch drawing from 1884.
Huitre.
Of course, huitre is nothing else but oysters. The best oysters in France are on the coast in the northwest. They are eaten raw, refined only with lemon and black pepper. The French seaside resort of Cancale in Brittany is noted for its oysters.
Oyster market Cancale, France. Pic Wikipedia. Notice the prices, reaching from 3 euro to 16 euro per kilo.
Oysters must be eaten alive, or cooked alive. Oysters can be eaten on the half shell, raw, smoked, boiled, baked, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, or broiled, or used in a variety of drinks. Eating can be as simple as opening the shell and eating the contents, including juice. Butter and salt are often added. In the case of Oysters Rockefeller, preparation can be very elaborate.
In France, most of them are offered by size (calibres). The weight of the meat varies between about 40g (no.4) and about 110g (no.000). Calibres can go up to 00000 ! The French also differentiate between PETIT (about 50g), MOYEN (50-74g), GRAND (75-99g) and TRES GRAND (up to 150g or more).
Belon oysters are considered by many to be the pinnacle of delights. While all the oysters described above are the Pacific Oyster (French: huitre creuse), the „Belon“ is a European Oyster (French: huitre plate). These, in contrast to the other mentioned, not on rocks, but living in the silt „plate“ rarity – named after the eponymous river Belon in Brittany – tastes very subtle and slightly nutty. It is more expensive than most other oyster species.
The Belon oysters from the river Belon in France. If you can have them with a bottle of Muscadet Sevre from the Loire Valley in France, you will be in heaven. Left pic Wikipedia.
In case you want to make oysters by yourself, here 2 of the many hundreds of diffrent recipes one can find. First the most well known French one and next the recipe which turned famous around the world. Finally 2 of my Australian experiences – GREAT STUFF.
Huitres gratinees au panais et parmesan.
Oysters gratin.
Ingredients.
12 oysters, calibres 3 or 2 according to the preferences
1 parsnip
200 ml double cream
100 ml of dry white wine
40 g Parmesan cheese, grated
juice of half a lemon
some nice nutty butter
salt and pepper to season
How to do.
Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
Open the oysters and drain the water. Personally, I also split the oyster muscle to separate it from the shell.
In a saucepan melt the butter, add the parsnip cut into small regular dice and a pinch of salt. Then add the white wine.
Bake for about 10 minutes until the parsnips are tender. Add the cream and lemon juice and let reduce 5 minutes.
Empty the oyster water again and detach it. It is important to remove the maximum amount of water to avoid making the preparation too liquid for cooking. For this, I wipe each shells and oysters with paper towels. Add a spoon of the previous preparation to the oysters, checking beforehand season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for a few minutes. Normally 5 minutes will be enough but do not move too far from the oven because the Parmesan must just start gratin to be perfect!
Spinach oysters au gratin a la Rockefeller.
Oysters Rockefeller.
Oysters Rockefeller was created in 1889 at the New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s by Jules Alciatore, son of founder Antoine Alciatore.Jules developed the dish due to a shortage of escargot, substituting the locally available oysters. The dish was named Oysters Rockefeller after John D. Rockefeller, the then wealthiest American, for its extreme richness. It consists of oysters on the half-shell topped with a green sauce and bread crumbs, then baked or broiled. Though the original sauce recipe is a secret, it includes a puree of a number of green vegetables that may include spinach.
John Davison Rockefeller, 1839 – 1937. Rockefeller was from German roots, was five times married and had five children. Founding and leading the Standard Oil Co.
Ingredients.
12 oysters, about size 3 or 2. I never use bigger ones, because I like a nice mouth full, not more. The bigger sizes are often used to chop and use for different recipes.
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves, or more, pressed garlic
2 cups young spinach, well packed
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
Oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (more in my case)
salt and pepper to season
Original „Oyster Rockefeller“ version with that secret green sauce. Picture Wikipedia.
How to do.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
In a large skillet, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the garlic and let infuse a few seconds, without letting it color.
Increase the heat and add the spinach. Cook them 2-3 minutes, until they fall.
Transfer the spinach to a colander for draining (this step is very important, otherwise the oysters will have too much liquid, so do not hesitate to squeeze the spinach to drain well).
When they are lukewarm, chop the spinach coarsely.
In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs with a few drops of oil.
Open the oysters and remove the water from the shells. Personally, I also split the oyster muscle to separate it from the shell.
Arrange the oysters in a baking dish. You can put salt in the bottom of the dish to stabilize the oysters.
For each oyster, add 1/2 teaspoon spinach, some breadcrumbs and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Cook the oysters for about 4 minutes in the oven or until the top is golden brown.
Serve direct as hot as possible.
A mouthwatering dish, trust me.
Finally.
In Australia we had oysters whenever and wherever we had a chance. There are so many oyster bars everywhere and the Sydney Rock Oyster is a fantastic specialty. Often we used to grill oysters on the Barbie. Combined with a homemade BBQ-butter-sauce from butter, brown sugar, whiskey, garlic and a can of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce. Soooo delicious.
Fresh Sydney Rock Oysters with lemon butter, black pepper and a dash red caviar, to that a chilled white wine. Beware – you have to pay the location and the view, not the few oysters !! Notice the half of a lemon in cloth, center of the plate.
Grilled Aussie Oysters with Garlic Chipotle Butter. The easy one.
Preheat the grill to medium hot. You can pre-shuck the oysters or just place them whole on the grill. Once you hear them pop, they will be easier to open. Wearing an oven mitt or the metal meat-glove, pick up the hot oyster and insert the tip of an oyster knife in the opening at the skinny tip of the oyster and pry the top shell off.
Place a pat of butter onto each shucked oyster and place back on the grill. After about 2-4 minutes of bubbling and sizzling remove the oysters from the heat. The oysters will be ready when the edges of their meat begins to curl and the butter sauce is bubbling hot. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before eating, they are VERY HOT, be careful.
Pancetta Oysters. The fancy one.
In case you have someone you want to introduce to and persuade eating oysters, try it with this easy variation. I had very very often success with this method. In a saucepan, add 4 or 5 cloves of minced garlic and saute with a small amount of butter over medium high heat for a minute or two and then deglaze the pan with a 1/4 cup of white wine.
Once the wine boils, cut the heat to low and whisk in a stick of unsalted butter one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated you can turn off the heat and whisk in the juice of 2 lemons and a healthy bunch of chopped chives. Poor the suce over the oysters and sprinkle with finely chopped pancetta. This sauce will last for about 36 – 40 oysters. Nice starter for a BBQ party of 6 people, I love this recipe.
Tips.
Except you like to eat the oysters fresh, without anything else out of the shell, you should for any other recipe drain all the oyster water before use.
Some warm baguette and a fresh, cool, dry white wine will round this delicious French meal. I love it all year round, but its an excellent summer dish. Sadly we can’t get fresh oysters in Uruguay. All other seafood is very poor too. Anyway – Enjoy French Life !!
