Oysters Rockefeller

It's now full on oyster season, and Tom Fitzmorris has damned near cracked the code. I love the story he tells about Bernard Guste not being able to use this recipe. It is close, but not exact though. maybe it is a difference in ovens, or chefs, but I had to make a couple of tweaks. Below is my adaptation:


Ingredients

• Four dozen oysters
• Water from oysters + two cups
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green onion tops
• 2 cups chopped parsley, stems removed
• 1 cup chopped fresh fennel
• 1 cup chopped watercress
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh garlic
• 3 anchovy fillets
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1 tsp. white pepper
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 4-5 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cups very fine plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 processed panko crubs

Instructions

1. Combine the vegetables and the anchovies in small batches and chop to a near-puree in a food processor, using the oyster water to help things along.
2. Combine this green slurry and the rest of the oyster water in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring every now and then, until the excess water is gone but the greens remain very moist. Add sugar, ketchup, salt, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, bitters and food coloring.
3. Make a blond roux with the butter and flour. Blend well into the greens, until the sauce takes on a different, lighter texture. Then mix in the bread crumbs.
4. I bake mine on the Oyster Bed, but if you’d like to bake this using oyster shells, serve on a bed of rock salt or on a napkin to keep the shells from rocking.Place large, fresh oysters onto Oyster Bed or into oyster shells, small ovenproof ramekins, or small au gratin dishes. Top each oyster with a generous tablespoon of sauce (or more, if you like). Bake 15 minutes in a preheated 450-degree oven, or until the top of the sauce has barely begun to brown (mine takes longer). Serve immediately.

Serves eight, a half dozen each.

•