Seafood › Oysters Escabeche

Serves 4 (3 oysters per person)

For the Oysters

• 12 oysters
• ½ cup Brut Cava dry sparkling wine
• ½ cup cava vinegar
• ½ cup grape seed oil
• ½ oz rooibus tea with bergamot
• sea salt to taste

Tabasco Emulsion

• 1 large egg or 2 small eggs
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• pinch of saffron
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 2 tbsp water
• kosher salt to taste
• Tabasco sauce to taste

Garnish

• sliced chives
• cracked grains of paradise
• esplette chili
• herb flowers (arugula, chive, nasturtium, kale, borage, or Sicily)

Prepare Oysters

1. Shuck oysters into a bowl over ice.  Save shells.  Allow oysters to sit for 20 minutes
2. Lift the oysters out, remove adductor muscle, strain the oyster liquid over the oysters.  Repeat 3 times waiting 20 minutes in between strains to clean any dirt or shell pieces.  Place into a 2 quart plastic container
3. In a small sauce pot add cava vinegar, cava wine, and grape seed oil.  Bring to a simmer.  Add the tea, and remove from the heat.  Allow the liquid to steep with the tea for 10 minutes
4. Strain the liquid over the oysters. Let cool. Store in the liquid overnight in the refrigerator

Make Tabasco Emulsion

1. Put garlic and dry white wine, and grains of paradise into a pot. Heat and reduce by half
2. While reducing, poach the egg(s) for 3 minutes, remove from water and put into a blender
3. Add the wine reduction and a little sea salt and blend on medium speed for 1 minute while adding some of the oil in a thin stream
4. Add saffron, tabasco, and lemon, then add the remainder of the oil while blending. Keep warm

To Plate

1. Either use wet salt or ice on the plates to hold the shells.  Place 3 shells per person on a plate.  Put 1 oyster in each shell
2. Put a small amount of the escabeche liquid in with the oysters.  Top with some saffron emulsion, chives, grains of paradise, esplette, fried garlic, sea salt and/or lovage
3. Garnish each one with a different flower, of mix of flowers