Ingredients
- 8 native oysters
- 2 cucumbers
- 30ml gin
- 1 tsp vinegar (we use our own seaweed vinegar)
- A few fennel fronds
- A small handful of sea lettuce
- A few arrowgrass tips
- 150ml light rapeseed oil
- sea salt
- 30ml bonito vinegar mixed with 60ml of good quality extra virgin rapeseed oil, for dressing
- some nasturitum leaves
Method
- Shuck all the oysters. Reserve all their juices in a separate bowl. Place 4 in a food processor. Season with a little sea salt and some of the reserved juices. Blend at high speed. When smooth, begin to slowly add the oil into the oyster mix. You need to emulsify the oil with the oyster so be careful not to add the oil in too quickly. Remove the oyster emulsion from the food processor and place into a small piping bag.
- Peel the cucumbers. Slice one of the cucumbers in half and then into rounds. Compress with the gin. Blend the other in a food processor with the fennel fronds, vinegar and honey. Pass the mixture. Freeze in a shallow tray.
- Blend the reserved oyster juices with some starch until it sets as a fluid gel.
- To serve: Dress the oyster with the bonito dressing. Place one oyster in centre of each bowl. Arrange 3-5 cucumber pieces (depending on size) around the oyster. Garnish with the arrowgrass, the sea lettuce and the nasturtium. Finish with some of the cucumber ice (you’ll need to scrap it into a powder before using).
JP McMahon, Aniar (Galway, Ireland)
