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Kusshi Oysters with Pickled Vegetables, Cucumber Jelly and Horseradish Foam
"Recipe from Blue Water Cafe by Frank Pabst. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Douglas and McIntyre, 2009. Photography by John Sherlock."
Alterations should be made to fit with your dietary needs. Please
consult with your medical team before you attempt to make this recipe.
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Kusshi Oysters with Pickled Vegetables, Cucumber Jelly and Horseradish Foam. Serves 4
Horseradish foam
1/2 cup fresh grated horseradish
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 leaf gelatin, softened in a little cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of sugar
Cucumber jelly
1 English cucumber, grated
1 tsp coarse sea salt
4 leaves gelatin, softened in a little cold water
Pickled vegetables
1/4 red onion, julienned
1/4 bulb fennel, julienned
2 ribs celery, julienned (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cucumber, julienned (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup mirin
Pinch of hot red chili flakes
2 sprigs thyme
2 thin slices fresh ginger
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 Tbsp chopped chives, chopped + chive tops for garnish
12 small Kusshi oysters
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Instructions
- Horseradish foam
- Place horseradish in a heatproof bowl
- In a small saucepan, bring water and cream to a boil and pour over horseradish
- Press out the moisture from the gelatin leaf
- Dissolve gelatin in the warm horseradish cream, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl
- Add lemon juice, sugar and a couple of pinches of salt
- Pour this horseradish cream into the whipped cream dispenser and charge the dispenser with one cartridge of nitrous oxide
- Keep the dispenser refrigerated for 2 hours until ready to serve
- Cucumber jelly
- Combine cucumber with sea salt
- Allow to stand for 10 minutes and press the juice through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. (You should have about 1 cup of cucumber juice.)
- Warm 2 Tbsp of the cucumber juice in the microwave for 15 seconds
- Press out the excess moisture from the gelatin, then dissolve it in the warm cucumber juice
- Pour this mixture into the remaining cucumber juice and mix thoroughly
- Line an 8-inch x 14-inch deep-sided baking sheet with plastic wrap
- Pour the cucumber mixture onto the baking sheet, then refrigerate for 2 hours until the jelly has completely set
- Using a round cutter 1 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out 12 disks
- Pickled vegetables
- In a medium heatproof bowl, mix together red onion, fennel, celery and cucumber
- In a saucepan, combine vinegar, mirin, chili flakes, thyme, ginger, coriander seeds and peppercorns
- Bring to a boil on high heat, then remove from the heat and refrigerate until chilled
- Strain the vinegar mixture over the vegetables
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour
To serve:
Shuck the oysters. Strain the pickled vegetables and mix them in a small bowl with the chopped chives. On each of four chilled rectangular plates, arrange a line of three small nests of pickled vegetables. Place a shucked oyster on each of the nests and top each serving with a disc of cucumber jelly. Carefully spray a small amount of horseradish foam between the nests and garnish with the chive tops. Suggested wine Chablis with good minerality and stone fruit. Try a Grand Cru Les Clos.
Kusshi oysters are an extra-small, meaty variety of oyster. To make the horseradish foam, you will need a whipped cream dispenser, which can be found at kitchen supply stores.
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