How many ways can you dress an oyster? For starters, try wrapping your oysters in paper-thin sheets of daikon to add a crisp pungent, peppery bite. A light drizzle of chilled cucumber jus makes the perfect oyster pairing, since cucumber and buttermilk provide green, cucumber-scented links to the raw oysters. Served with a few citrusy drops of bergamot gel to finish, these daikon-wrapped oysters are are refreshing alternative to the usual lemon wedge or mignonette pairing.
Daikon-wrapped oysters with cucumber and bergamot
Makes 4 servings
Cucumber jus
preparation
- 250 g cucumber, chopped
- 50 g buttermilk
- fresh cilantro, to taste
- salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Blend the cucumber, cilantro and buttermilk in a food processor until smooth. Sieve and season the cucumber jus with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bergamot gel
preparation
- 110 g freshly squeezed bergamot juice
- 50 g simple syrup
- 2 g Texturas Citras
- 1.8 g agar
In a small saucepan, mix all of the ingredients together and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Allow the gel to set. Using a hand mixer, blend the bergamot gel until smooth.
Daikon-wrapped oysters with cucumber and bergamot
preparation
- 4 raw oysters, halved
- ½ of a daikon, peeled
- cucumber jus (recipe above)
- bergamot gel (recipe above)
- caviar, to taste
Peel the daikon. Using a mandolin, carefully slice the daikon lengthwise into 4 long, thin strips. Stack 2 oyster halves—one on top of the other for height—at the end of a daikon strip and begin rolling to surround the oyster completely, like cannelloni. Repeat for each oyster so that you end up with 4 daikon-wrapped oysters.
Spoon the bergamot gel into a piping bag. Reserve and set aside.
Arrange the daikon-wrapped oysters on a plate and garnish with some caviar. Then drizzle the cucumber jus onto the plate. Pipe a few small dots of the bergamot gel and serve immediately.
