Oysters On The Half Shell With Oriental Mignonette Food

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL WITH WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Puree watermelon in a blender until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a 5-by-9-inch nonreactive loaf pan; discard solids. Stir in lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze until firm, about 3 hours.
• Scrape granita with a fork until fluffy. Freeze again while shucking oysters.
• Shuck oysters, and arrange on a bed of crushed ice. Garnish ice with lemon zest. Top each oyster with 1 to 2 teaspoons granita toward the narrow end of the oyster shell.

CLASSIC MIGNONETTE RECIPE

Steps:

• Using a small, sharp knife, trim shallot ends, leaving root end attached. Cut shallots in half, peel and discard skins. Using your hands, remove the core from each shallot half, leaving layered petals of shallot. Set cores aside for another use.
• Cut shallot petals into pieces that can lie flat on the cutting board, and position them vertically on the board, with root ends farthest from you. Starting with the tip of your knife just below the root end, slice shallot petals into thin strips from pole to pole, leaving them barely attached at root end.
• Rotate shallot petals 90 degrees and cut across the thin strips to make very finely diced pieces. Using bench scraper, transfer minced shallots to small bowl; discard root end scraps. Pour vinegar over shallots, and set bowl aside.
• In a small skillet over medium heat, toast peppercorns until fragrant and warm to the touch, shaking skillet occasionally to ensure that they toast evenly and don't burn, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer peppercorns to small bowl and let them cool for 1 minute.
• Crack peppercorns into rough halves and quarters. You can use a mortar and pestle; or a large mallet, meat pounder, or the bottom of a skillet or saucepan to crush them (doing this in a rimmed baking sheet, or wrapping the peppercorns in a clean kitchen towel, will help contain them).
• Add cracked peppercorns to bowl with shallots and vinegar, and stir to combine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour to allow flavors to marry. If you are not planning to serve immediately, transfer mignonette to the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 3 days. Serve with oysters on the half-shell.

OYSTERS WITH AN ASIAN MIGNONETTE

Steps:

• Place the oysters on a plate covered in coarse salt. In a bowl, combine lime juice, shallots, yellow pepper, cilantro and ginger and mix well. Season with cracked black pepper. Place a tablespoon on each oyster. Garnish each oyster with a dollop of wasabi caviar.

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL WITH FENNEL-CORIANDER MIGNONETTE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix fennel, shallots, coriander and vinegar. Spoon on top of oysters. Put one dash of hot pepper sauce on each oyster. Place on plate of ice and fennel sprigs and serve immediately.

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL WITH ORIENTAL MIGNONETTE

Steps:

• Combine first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
• To open oysters: Using towel, hold oyster flat on work surface, flat shell up. Insert tip of oyster knife into hinge and twist to open shell. Slide knife along inside of upper shell to free oyster from shell; discard upper shell. Slide knife under oyster to free from lower shell; leave in shell. Repeat with remaining oysters. Arrange oysters on edge of two plates. Divide sauce between 2 small bowls. Place one bowl in the center of each plate and serve.