Oysters

Those of you who already love oysters – we know you’ll enjoy both these recipes. However, it’s the skeptics that we’re really reaching out to here… if you haven’t tried oysters in a while, or at all, now is the time.

You will need

Bloody Mary Jelly:
250ml tomato juice
6 gelatine leaves
1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion or shallot
1 tablespoon chopped celery
Tabasco sauce to taste
Decent pinch of salt and pepper
Grated fresh horseradish to taste
Lemon zest from 1/2 a lemon
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of ground black cardamom
2 tablespoons of chilli (or plain) vodka

Hush Puppies:
6 freshly shucked oysters
100g buttermilk
200g plain flour
1 tablespoon of Creole seasoning (1 teaspoon paprika, 1teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 1 teaspoon of dried garlic and onion)
200g cornmeal
Oil for deep frying

Bloody Mary Jelly:

Pour the tomato juice into a pan on a medium heat
Soak six gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes
Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the vodka
Add the gelatine and stir through
Add the vodka
Have a plate or small tray ready, lined with cling film
Spoon the mixture onto the cling film to a depth of 3-4 millimetres then move very carefully to a shelf in the fridge until set
Cube and serve with freshly shucked oysters

Oyster Hush Puppies
Makes 6 oysters
Remove the raw oysters from their shell
Coat in buttermilk
Think of Southern Fried chicken – that’s the sort of flavour and texture we’re introducing here.
Here we have plain flour with a teaspoon of creole seasoning
Roll the oyster in the seasoned flour until lightly coated
Transfer the oyster from the egg into the cornmeal, then, using your dry hand, roll it around until evenly coated
Place carefully into the oil and deep fry for 2-3 minutes.
Take them out and place on a couple of layers of kitchen roll to drain excess oil, and sprinkle with a little salt
They’re ready to serve immediately with chopped herbs or a green salad