So Oysters Rockefeller are delicious in general. Salty, plump and creamy oyster – oo so yummy – plus even saltier crisp nuggets of bacon, blended with creamy (again!) smooth rich bechamel sauce, iron spinach and a crisp topping, grilled. Fabulous, just fabulous. They are a great way to convince those who initially spurn oysters (weirdos) that they are great. Normally I am a bit of an oyster purist – tabasco and onion can take a running jump – but sometimes these are good for a change! As my housemate said when I cooked these for him : ‘it tastes like the top of a filled potato skin’. Albeit insulting and peasantish (Jokes, Davidoff), he wasn’t far off. Cheesey, bacony, salty goodness.
There is a story behind this though. Indulge me. Last week I attended the London Restaurant Festival Awards in my new capacity as a radio presenter for Zone One Radio’s brilliant show In Good Taste (add them on Twitter at @z1radio and @_ingoodtaste). As was delightfully the case at this industry event, the alcohol and nibbles were flowing. When I say flowing, in the case of the drinks it was less of a trickle and more of a Niagra. I interviewed a few people – have a gander via my Twitter @foodgoblin1 for links – and made them adequately awkward. To be fair though – I was proud of myself in my restraint among so many celebrity, world class chefs. In the past I have done excruciatingly embarrassing things in front of them. They are my Lady Gagas and Nicky MinVaj or whoever she is. Michael Fassbender – pfft, bring me Tom Kitchin or Aitken. Actually do though….please? Telling James Martin to his FACE that I loved him was perhaps a particular low point.
After that was all done however I turned to the drinks and food with full concentration, intent and seriousness. Free Laurent Perrier? Don’t mind if I do. I do a lot. Liquid nitrogen frozen meringues? Darling. Free OYSTERS freshly shucked – oh you shouldn’t have. The oysters were served by a terribly dashing man in a kilt too. I think I hung around the oyster bar for just long enough to make a bit of an impression/creep him out enough and at the end of the evening said tasty man offered me a bag of free oysters. FREE OYSTERS can you actually believe it?! Absolute love at first sight, I’m devastated I didn’t leave him my ‘card’ (because that’s how young professionals flirt now, duh).
There is a story behind this though. Indulge me. Last week I attended the London Restaurant Festival Awards in my new capacity as a radio presenter for Zone One Radio’s brilliant show In Good Taste (add them on Twitter at @z1radio and @_ingoodtaste). As was delightfully the case at this industry event, the alcohol and nibbles were flowing. When I say flowing, in the case of the drinks it was less of a trickle and more of a Niagra. I interviewed a few people – have a gander via my Twitter @foodgoblin1 for links – and made them adequately awkward. To be fair though – I was proud of myself in my restraint among so many celebrity, world class chefs. In the past I have done excruciatingly embarrassing things in front of them. They are my Lady Gagas and Nicky MinVaj or whoever she is. Michael Fassbender – pfft, bring me Tom Kitchin or Aitken. Actually do though….please? Telling James Martin to his FACE that I loved him was perhaps a particular low point.
After that was all done however I turned to the drinks and food with full concentration, intent and seriousness. Free Laurent Perrier? Don’t mind if I do. I do a lot. Liquid nitrogen frozen meringues? Darling. Free OYSTERS freshly shucked – oh you shouldn’t have. The oysters were served by a terribly dashing man in a kilt too. I think I hung around the oyster bar for just long enough to make a bit of an impression/creep him out enough and at the end of the evening said tasty man offered me a bag of free oysters. FREE OYSTERS can you actually believe it?! Absolute love at first sight, I’m devastated I didn’t leave him my ‘card’ (because that’s how young professionals flirt now, duh).
decidedly worse for wear WITH said oysters
Anyway, besides the lost Adonis I was overjoyed, having reasoned that oysters were almost certainly more exciting anyway. Off I went, half a bottle of bubbly down the hatch with my work clothes and laptop slung over one shoulder and about 4 kilos of oysters on the other!! I was absolutely despised by commuters on the train as I dripped fishy juice down the carriage into their brogues (Sloane Square), Nikes (Tooting). Karma got its own back by making me miss my bus stop and have to walk back, carting my pack-mule loads in the pouring, pelting rain. Bacchus definitely had nothing to do with it….(sorry, classics joke. Google it. REALLY funny, kinda, not.). Anyway, I arrived at home finally at about 11pm, merry as a sailor, soaking wet and ready for my oysters. Drunken kebab? Dominoes? Moi? NO. My post lash was oysters rockefeller. Casual. Slight fail in that I devastatingly sliced my palm open shucking the very first one. Awks. At this point it occurred to me through my haze of grapes and glee that the time had probably come for me to make a difficult choice. My choices were as follows: to a) seek emergency medical help immediately or b) hide my open wound inside an old oven glove so I could pretend it wasn’t there and continue to construct my feast. I’m sure you know all what my priorities were in this matter.
Anyway – it was a fun and funny night and resulted in this very recipe which I shall now recount to you! Do make it, do love it. I went through the trenches to bring it to you. It may not be the most authentic Oysters Rockefeller in the world but, damn, it is tasty. And not at all like the top of a potato skin.
Recipe
Ingredients (12 oysters – I will probably eat 12 to myself…. 6 might suit better as a starter):
12 fresh oysters – UNSCRUBBED (we don’t do this much in England but sometimes in the States the FIENDS wash and rinse out the oysters to remove all the brine. Never do this, absolute sacrilege of the sort that makes me quite ill. It is where 80% of the flavour lies.)
2 slices bacon, unsmoked, cut into nuggets
vegetable oil
12 spinach leaves
salt and pepper
50g butter
50g flour
200ml milk
2 tablespoons parmesan, grated
Method:
1. Shuck your oysters. If you haven’t done this before maybe get someone to do this for you and teach you. It can be dangerous. You’ll need an oyster shucking knife. Essentially what you do is to hold your oyster in your, gloved, tea towel wrapped and very much protected hand, hinge side up. The hinge is the section where the two halves of the shell meet and fasten at one end- you should be able to spy it. Using a shucking knife (very strong and flexible – don’t use a normal knife) insert the edge into the hinge and work it from side to side, in and out, flexing it and gradually easing the oyster shell apart. It’ll take a bit of muscle and sensitivity. Once it has popped run your knife down each side of the shell, running it along the top detaching the top shell half and easing the oyster, whole and undamaged, from the shell. Discard the top half of the shell, loosen the oyster with the knife from the bottom shell half so that it is no longer attached to the shell, not spilling the precious liqueur and set to one side.
2. Set your grill to high and let heat up. Heat a frying pan with some oil in it and fry the bacon bits until crispy. Set to one side.
3. Make your bechamel. Melt your butter in a saucepan. Once melted add the flour and mix in to combine. This is called a roux – it is a classic French technique that you’ll use lots if you cook and it’ll come up again in tonnes of recipes. Cook your roux over heat in the saucepan for about 2 minutes until it is slightly coloured – biscuit golden I like to call it. Add the milk and whisk in – make sure there are no lumps. Whisk over heat until it thickens. This should happen pretty fast. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lay your oysters on a baking tray. Top each with a spinach leaf and a few bacon bits. Put a spoon of the bechamel over the top of each and top with some sprinkled parmesan.
5. Place under a hot grill and grill for about 2-3 minutes, until the sauce and parmesan have nicely browned. Remove from the grill. Put on a plate and serve!! Down all in one (careful, it’s hot) or eat with a fork. Oh and – you do chew. Seems silly to say but sometimes people ask. Enjoy!
Ingredients (12 oysters – I will probably eat 12 to myself…. 6 might suit better as a starter):
12 fresh oysters – UNSCRUBBED (we don’t do this much in England but sometimes in the States the FIENDS wash and rinse out the oysters to remove all the brine. Never do this, absolute sacrilege of the sort that makes me quite ill. It is where 80% of the flavour lies.)
2 slices bacon, unsmoked, cut into nuggets
vegetable oil
12 spinach leaves
salt and pepper
50g butter
50g flour
200ml milk
2 tablespoons parmesan, grated
Method:
1. Shuck your oysters. If you haven’t done this before maybe get someone to do this for you and teach you. It can be dangerous. You’ll need an oyster shucking knife. Essentially what you do is to hold your oyster in your, gloved, tea towel wrapped and very much protected hand, hinge side up. The hinge is the section where the two halves of the shell meet and fasten at one end- you should be able to spy it. Using a shucking knife (very strong and flexible – don’t use a normal knife) insert the edge into the hinge and work it from side to side, in and out, flexing it and gradually easing the oyster shell apart. It’ll take a bit of muscle and sensitivity. Once it has popped run your knife down each side of the shell, running it along the top detaching the top shell half and easing the oyster, whole and undamaged, from the shell. Discard the top half of the shell, loosen the oyster with the knife from the bottom shell half so that it is no longer attached to the shell, not spilling the precious liqueur and set to one side.
2. Set your grill to high and let heat up. Heat a frying pan with some oil in it and fry the bacon bits until crispy. Set to one side.
3. Make your bechamel. Melt your butter in a saucepan. Once melted add the flour and mix in to combine. This is called a roux – it is a classic French technique that you’ll use lots if you cook and it’ll come up again in tonnes of recipes. Cook your roux over heat in the saucepan for about 2 minutes until it is slightly coloured – biscuit golden I like to call it. Add the milk and whisk in – make sure there are no lumps. Whisk over heat until it thickens. This should happen pretty fast. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lay your oysters on a baking tray. Top each with a spinach leaf and a few bacon bits. Put a spoon of the bechamel over the top of each and top with some sprinkled parmesan.
5. Place under a hot grill and grill for about 2-3 minutes, until the sauce and parmesan have nicely browned. Remove from the grill. Put on a plate and serve!! Down all in one (careful, it’s hot) or eat with a fork. Oh and – you do chew. Seems silly to say but sometimes people ask. Enjoy!
THANK YOU KILTED MAN
on with the spinach
bacon bits!
spinach and bacon = on
sauce and cheese
mm
Grilled and golden
the sexiest sight in the world
