Black and white oysters, raw and cooked
List of ingredients
Serves 4
24 Spéciale de Claire n°2 oysters
For the rolls
800g Blanc de Casseron squid tubes
250ml crème fraîche
2 egg whites
4 sachets squid ink
For the cooking garnish
80 g leeks
100ml Noilly Prat
50ml Bercloux malt whisky
200ml crème fraîche
Garnish
50g small chanterelle mushrooms
125g sugar
125ml vinegar
100g samphire
Sommelier’s tip
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons
This dish offers a wide range of aromas with oysters providing the dominant flavor. Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons wines also have a similarly wide aromatic range with marine notes (iodine and salt), smoked and toasted notes, stone fruits like mirabelle plums, fresh hay, touches of menthol or even honey flavored candy. So this perfumed wine will marry well with the intense raw and cooked notes of the seafood, the strong leek flavors, the rancio notes of the Noilly Prat, and the malt notes of the whisky. The harmony continues in the mouth. The wine is full, complementing the fleshiness of the oyster and its garnish. The fresh taste of the wine breathes life into the fine, sweet flavors of the squid and the supple texture of the oyster, harmoniously bringing together the entire dish.
Method
Prepare the vegetables
Prepare the rolls
Chop the squid tubes finely. Add the egg whites and the crème fraîche. Color half this mixture with the ink. Spread out the white mixture on a silicone mat using a comb. Steam for 7 minutes, then cover with the black mixture, and steam for a further 7 minutes. Set aside.
Open the oysters
Finely chop the leeks. Place the oysters on their sides in a sauté pan, add the Noilly Prat and the leeks, cover, and bring to a boil until the oysters open. Open the oysters, strain the cooking liquor, and set aside.
The garnish
Place the samphire in cold water and bring to a boil to blanche. Repeat twice, refresh, and set aside. Bring the vinegar to a boil with the sugar and water. Add the mushrooms for 40 seconds, cool, and set aside.
Prepare the garnish for the rolls
Open the remaining oysters. Finely dice the raw and cooked oysters, add some of the samphire, garnish, and finish the rolls.
Make the sauce
Bring the cooking liquor to a boil, add the cream, reduce slightly and then add the whisky. Whisk to emulsify.
Finishing and assembly
Arrange the poached oysters on the side of the rolls, add the emulsion and decorate with a few mushrooms and a little samphire.
The author of this recipe
Lilian Ardouin, winner of the gold trophy at the Marennes Oléron Oysters Young Talents Competition 2016, secondary category.
“Spéciale Marennes Oléron n°2 de Claire oysters must be the main element of this dish, so I was careful to balance the other elements to ensure they didn’t detract from the flavor of the oyster. It involves a squid “roll” containing a 100% marine filling, including samphire from the Luzac marshes, accompanied by pickled mushrooms to give a slightly vinegary note to bring out all the flavor of the fleshy oyster.”
