Wednesday, February 11, 2015

415/1038 - Oyster soup

With three dozen fresh oysters on hand, Oysters Rockefeller was not all that was on the menu! 

I have always wondered what oyster soup would be like, imagining something very rich, and quite frankly not being terribly inspired to cook it myself. This recipe is certainly rich, but is also quite lovely and with many more ingredients than simply oysters. It is a creamy soup, flavoured with thyme, leek and of course those wonderful oyster juices. 

Of course unopened oysters are required for this recipe, so that the juices might be captured as they are shucked. Although I would not call myself a master of oyster shucking, the job we did was good enough to get us by in this case. Admittedly there was a need to sieve the juices which were filled with quite a few broken bits of shell! 

In order to make the croutons, I baked a seed and walnut bread which I just knew would complement the flavours of the soup beautifully. What a wonderful bread it was too! 

Of course I am pleased that I have finally entered the world of the oyster chapter, which in this challenge was number 104 of 125. It seems quite unbelievable that three and a half years into this challenge there are still 21 chapters into which I have not yet ventured.  

We all loved this soup, including my youngest who has now successfully enjoyed oysters two different ways in the same weekend. A tiny part of me is ever so slightly disappointed that I have yet another person in this house likely to steal oysters off my plate in future, however this is overridden by the special thrill I get whenever I see my children expanding their gastronomic repertoire. 

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