oysters

Photo: Rob Corlett
It is Grand Central Station, New York City. Go down the escalator to the lower floor, underground, and enter the Oyster Bar; a grand, cavernous space, giant chandeliers, gleaming tiles reflecting light.

Photo: Rob Corlett
People are everywhere, savouring oysters from the east and west coasts, from the top to the bottom of the country. Each oyster can be bought individually - Bluepoint, Boques Bay, Caraquet, Hood Canal, Little Skookum, Mecox, Meximoto, Pemaquid, Tatamoguche, Wellsfleet, to name a few.

You can sit at the counter and watch the experts shucking oysters and sliding them in front of you on ice, or you can be at any of four other sections in the restaurant and sample the same and more, such as its classic dish - a steaming bowl of bouillabaisse.

Even if you are not passionate about oysters, your curiosity has to be aroused by myriad options the menu holds. The menu of April 29, 2009, had 30 different oysters, named from the source - Boques Bay in Virginia, Caraquet in New Brunswick, Meximoto from Baja California, Tatamoguche in Nova Scotia, Little Skookum from Washington. Each is different in texture, size and taste, as well as variety.

The complexity of oysters is a little like that of different wine varieties. They are vastly different to the palate. Aficionados know the different varieties by name, and the qualities they will experience when tasting them.

All edible oysters are from the Ostreidae family. There are three principal genuses that feature in oyster eating. Members of the Ostrea genus live immersed in sea water, while Saccostrea and Crassostrea live in intertidal zones.

On the menu of the Oyster Bar, many of the oysters are either Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oysters) or Crassostrea virginica (Atlantic or Eastern oysters).
Photo: Rob Corlett

In New Zealand, we have all three of the principal genuses. Bluff oysters are in fact Ostrea chilensis, as are the oysters in Nelson and Marlborough. They are dredge oysters and are native to New Zealand and Chile, and have been commercially harvested here for more than 100 years.

New Zealand rock oysters are from the species Saccostrea commercialis, and are found in the intertidal zone in the north of the North Island. These oysters have been farmed commercially in the north of the country for about 40 years.

The interloper is Crassostrea gigas, the Pacific oyster, which appeared in our waters in the 1950s, and is suspected to have arrived via Japan. They now form the majority of our farmed oyster crop. They are vigorous and grow much faster than our native species, and are established in a range of places, including the Marlborough Sounds.

Photo: Rob Corlett

The latest commercial venture here in Nelson is the Cawthron Institute's oyster hatchery at the Glen, soon to be officially opened with an event featuring celebrity chef Peta Mathias creating an oyster dish to be prepared and served by NMIT hospitality staff and students.

Olin Pilcher, of Cawthron, says rearing Pacific oysters is like handling gravel or farming rocks. He explains that the beauty of hatchery-raised spat is that you get a much more uniform product.

Three-quarters of industry spat comes from the wild, sourced mainly from the Kaipara Harbour. From the wild, you get what you get, and the spat is variable in terms of numbers and quality. Hatchery spat can be bred for colour, shell shape and growth rate.

The Cawthron initiative has the capacity to grow up to 20 million spat a year. They are grown to about the size of a fingernail before being shipped to oyster farms, where they will be raised for another nine to 12 months.

New Zealand is a small player on the world oyster scene, with the industry producing about 45 million oysters a year.

Photo: Marion van Dijk
Oysters can be eaten raw, smoked, baked, fried, roasted, grilled, steamed or pickled. True oyster lovers consider it sacrilege to cook an oyster, and believe that the only way to eat them is raw.

The species and the place they grow greatly influence their taste. Pacific oysters are often described as being creamy with a mineral ocean taste, whereas an Atlantic oyster is described as saltier.

Each ocean, sea, bay or inlet has different conditions and water qualities, and this is reflected in the taste of the oyster. Each has its own degree of saltiness, and tastes are varied, with descriptors such as a fruit or almond finish.

Oysters are good for you - they are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and D. Four to five oysters a day will supply you with the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.

Here are a few recipes.

OYSTER SHOT: Make a bloody mary mix by adding to tomato juice a dash or three of worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Add some celery salt and black pepper. Add vodka to taste. Mix well. In a shot glass, add an oyster and pour over the bloody mary mix. Have 3 or 4.

OYSTERS WITH NOBU'S THREE SALSAS: From Nobu the Cookbook by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa (visiting the Nobu restaurant in New York is an amazing culinary experience)
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Photo: Marion van Dijk

12 fresh oysters in the shell

4 Tbsp matsuhisa salsa

4 Tbsp maui onion salsa

4 Tbsp jalapeno salsa

Finely chopped chives for garnish Remove the oysters from their shells and rinse under cold water. Drain. Arrange the oysters in their shells and top with a little of each salsa - use four oysters per salsa. Sprinkle the chives over the maui onion salsa.

MATSUHISA SALSA: 1/2cup (60g) finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp chilli oil

1/4 tsp finely grated ginger

1 Tbsp oil

Combine and add 1/2 cup (10g) finely chopped parsley before use.

JALAPENO SALSA: finely chopped jalapeno chillis

1 1/4 cups (125g) finely chopped onion

1 tsp sea salt

5 tsp extra virgin olive oil

5 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine.

MAUI ONION SALSA

1 cup (100g) finely chopped maui onion

3/4 cup (105g) finely chopped tomato

6 Tbsp Ponzu (Japanese citrus-based sauce)

2 tsp orange juice (freshly squeezed)

1 tsp hot chilli sauce. Combine.

ANGELS ON HORSEBACK:
This is a classic canape that was a party favourite decades ago and may be enjoying a comeback.

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 clove garlic, chopped

12 oysters

6 slices lean bacon

Salt and pepper

Mix the wine, garlic, salt and pepper together. Add the oysters and marinate for 10 to 20 minutes. Preheat the grill. Cut each bacon slice in half and wrap around an oyster, securing with a toothpick. Grill on both sides until the bacon is crisp. Serve while still warm.

Scallops in the bay, fennel in the field

Photo: Rob Corlett


Scallops are a rich and delicious shellfish that are sought after as a menu item when they are in season. They are culinary regulars in both Asian and Western cuisine and are prized in many cultures around the world. We regard them as quite commonplace in New Zealand, but in parts of Europe they are more scarce and expensive treasures.

They are remarkably versatile, combine extremely well with a range of flavours and can be enjoyed in many ways - raw on the shell (preferably on the side of a boat out in the bay), in sashimi, lightly sauteed with very little to adorn them, to more complex recipes involving wine and cheeses in classic recipes such as Scallops Mornay.

The key to cooking, as with any fish, is to not overcook them. A perfectly cooked scallop should still be slightly translucent in the centre.

A scallop is a bivalve (two shells) with one flat shell and one concave shell. The adductor muscle (the white meat) is used to open and close the shell. This white meat is the part that is called the scallop in culinary terms, along with the orange roe. (A great cooking hint about roe is that it can be used to thicken a sauce - just crush the roe into the poaching liquid and whisk, and the sauce will thicken). Interestingly, in North America the roe is taken from the scallop muscle and only the white part of the scallop is sold.

Scallops, like all shellfish, are an excellent source of Omega 3, an essential fatty acid that lowers cholesterol and aids circulation.

Scallops can be sourced all around New Zealand. Locally, the situation is a bit grim, with availability of scallops in Tasman Bay at dramatically low levels. People may not be aware that our scallop beds are dying and that there has been no commercial fishing in the bay for five years. Commercial supply is still viable in both Golden Bay and the Marlborough Sounds, and recreational fishers can still find some scallops in Tasman Bay, with adjacent areas still producing a good supply in the season from November to July. A recent article in The Nelson Mail featured recreational fishermen in Golden Bay who talked about the abundance of scallops there and the ease of catching them.

As mentioned earlier, scallops mix very well with a variety of flavours, and they taste particularly fabulous combined with the mild anise flavour of fennel.

Florence fennel or finocchio is an essential Italian herb (and vegetable) that has been grown and eaten in Italy forever but has only recently become available in New Zealand. It is similar to celery in many ways but has a wonderful anise flavour that adds so much to dishes. It can be found at Nelson City Fresh Choice and sometimes at New World. It can also be bought direct from Finocchio Farms (www.finocchifarm.co.nz). Fennel can be eaten raw in salads (sliced finely) or braised or sauteed (chopped into four pieces or more, depending on the size) and it is delicious chargrilled on the barbecue. Normally, it comes with some of the wispy herb on top, which can be chopped and added to whatever you are cooking. It has a delicious anise flavour, and this can be enhanced by adding some fennel seeds or a splash or two of pernod to the dish to give a more dramatic anise flavour. It is a great vegetable to experiment with if you haven't done so.

Three recipes follow that give you the opportunity to try this great combination of flavours and textures.

Seared Scallops with Fennel Puree and Citrus
Serves 5
250g fennel bulb
100g white onion
25 scallops
2 1/2 lemons
2 oranges in segments
2 limes in segments
150ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Trim the fennel bulb and finely slice. Saute diced white onion and fennel bulb. Add lemon juice and a little water, cover and cook over a low heat until soft. Cool and puree in a blender or food processor with a little olive oil. The mixture should not be too runny; it needs to be able to be mounded on the plate when served.
Cut the limes, lemons and oranges into segments.
Make a dressing with equal parts olive oil and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste.
Sear the scallops in a hot pan with a little oil. The scallops should be golden on the outside and slightly translucent in the middle this will depend on the size of the scallop (generally about 1-2 minutes each side).
Warm the puree and place five spoonfuls of it on each plate. Top each mound with a scallop. Arrange segments neatly around the plate. Dress with the citrus dressing and garnish with some of the whispy fennel leaves from the top of the bulb.

Grilled Scallops and Fennel with Lime Pernod Dressing
Serves 3

1 large fennel bulb (or 2 smaller bulbs)
Slice the fennel bulb lengthwise into four portions. Lightly brush with olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill on the barbecue until it softens slightly and is well marked by the charcoal but is still slightly crisp.

15 scallops
Grill the scallops on the barbecue or in a pan for 1-2 minutes on each side.

Dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp pernod
1 tsp chilli flakes
Sea salt
Combine the ingredients and mix well.
Put the fennel on the plate first, add the scallops on top and pour the dressing over the top. Garnish with either fresh tarragon or parsley.

Lil's Pasta with Fennel, Prawn and Scallop Sauce
Serves 4
2 cloves garlic
2 medium-sized fennel bulbs
1 red onion
3 cans of Italian tomatoes
1 cup white wine
3 tbsp each fresh basil and oregano
1 tbsp toasted fennel seeds
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper
2 tsp raw sugar
20 scallops, 12 raw prawns (either in the shell or shelled)
400g fresh linguini pasta
Saute finely sliced fennel, onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened and turning slightly golden. Add the tomatoes, fennel seed, oregano and basil, mustard, sugar and salt and pepper. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Add the prawns to the sauce and cook through. Add the scallops and cook until done just a few minutes, depending on the size of the scallops. Drain the pasta and serve with the seafood sauce. Add parmesan cheese to taste.

Crab 'em and eat 'em

photo Nelson Mail

Some things you may not know about crabs are that they walk sideways and can be found everywhere in the world. There are somewhere between 5000 to 7000 species of them, depending on which authority on the subject you read. They can be found in all the oceans of the world, as well as in fresh water and even on the land, particularly in tropical regions.

Crab make up 20 per cent of all marine crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with well over 1 million tonnes consumed annually.

As a result of their occurrence in so many places, they feature in the cuisine of many countries. Some crab is eaten whole, shell and all, such as soft-shell crab, while for other crab it is the claws and legs that are mainly eaten, along with as much meat as can be extracted under the shell.

Paddle crab is the species found in New Zealand on sandy beaches, estuaries and harbours. They are mostly active at night, when they move to tidal areas to feed. Females moult (hence soft-shell crab) and can mate only when in this state.

Local crab fishermen know how to avoid the moulting crab, as they are soft shelled in different areas at different times.

The crab fishery is managed in New Zealand by strict quotas and, normally, paddle crab is caught using baited traps or pots.

If you love the taste of crab or want to experiment, here is a daring method for catching them without a pot or trap.

Go to a beach such as Rabbit Island, or Torrent Bay or Awaroa in the Abel Tasman, at low tide, especially at a spring tide. Take a bucket and a rake and, with bare feet, walk out in the tide to the point where the sand becomes soft and squelchy under your feet (this may mean being up to the top of your legs in water - you need to have bare feet because you need to be able to feel the texture of the sand).

On reaching sand of the right texture, start raking in front of you. The crab will grab a hold of the rake with its claws. Swiftly lift the rake with crab attached and toss the crab into your bucket. Voila!

Other than this method, you need to rely on Guytons or supermarkets to stock crab for you.

Crab is caught commercially in the Nelson bays area throughout the year. Aqua Fresh (a local company) catches between 18 and 23 tonnes of crab a year and supplies supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

This means that crab could be available to us all in Nelson via our local supermarkets pretty much constantly, except when bad weather affects the catch. So it is up to us as consumers to let our supermarkets know that we want crab - it is there for the taking.

Currently, Nelson suppliers are requesting only limited orders, so our local crab travels around the country.

Other than in the whole, fresh, living form, you can obtain them whole, fresh and cooked, as fresh diced meat, as frozen diced meat and canned.

A crab worth eating will have its legs intact and will feel heavy. When you buy fresh crab, the legs should be moving, and if it is cooked, the legs should not be limp.

Crab is a great source of protein and has lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals. So it is well worth mastering the art of extracting the flesh from the shells.

To prepare crab meat, follow these steps. Learning how to do this will make your experience of crab much easier.

• First, kill the crab by either forcing a sharp knife through the indented spot just above the tail flap on its underside - this kills the crab instantly -
  
  or by putting it in boiling water.
• Cook it by boiling it for 10 minutes in a small amount of water. Rinse in cold water.
• Hold the back legs and with the crab facing you, lift the shell off. Then remove the gills.
• To extract the flesh, cut the crab in half with a sharp knife. Separate out the legs, claws and body and carefully extract the meat from each part of the body.

The flesh of the paddle crab is white, crisp, moist and delicious. It combines brilliantly with chilli and there are many recipes for chilli crab.
A recipe follows, along with another peppery version, salt and pepper crab. Crab cakes are also delicious and can be made using either fresh or canned crab.

Crab cakes
Ingredients:
500g of crab meat
1 red or green pepper
1 small red chilli
zest of 1 lime
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup of coconut, freshly grated or dried
1 tbsp of chickpea flour
a handful of chopped coriander or Italian parsley Combine the crab meat, diced peppers, lime zest, coconut, egg, flour and herbs, season with salt and shape into cakes. Chill for an hour to help them keep their shape.

Fry in a little hot oil until they are golden brown. Serve with a sauce made of 200ml of good-quality coconut milk, 3-4 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce, 1 kaffir lime leaf finely chopped, juice from a lime, two tsp of fish sauce and fresh coriander or parsley. Combine all the ingredients and gently simmer until well combined.

Salt and pepper crab
Ingredients:
1 crab per person, for up to six
50g of sea salt
50g of black peppercorns
6 spring onions
1 litre of oil

Pound the salt and pepper together in a mortar until fine.

Kill the crab and then remove the shell and wash thoroughly. Cut into quarters. Heat the oil in a wok until very hot and add the quartered crab. Fry for at least 5 minutes. Remove and drain. Remove the oil from the wok except for a little to refry the crab pieces along with a good spoonful of the salt and pepper mixture and the spring onions chopped finely. Fry until the crab is golden brown. Drain again. Serve with lots of fresh lime juice.

Chilli crab
Ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic
4 hot chillies with the seeds (try using one chipotle chilli in this mix for an extra smoky flavour)
1 red onion
3-4 sprigs of mint
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 crab per person, for up to six

120g of coconut milkIn a food processor, blend the first five ingredients to make a paste. Heat a wok and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, add the paste and stir for a few minutes. Add quartered crab meat (as per the recipe for salt and pepper crab) and stir fry until the crab has turned orange. This will take 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the crab. Stir in the coconut milk and serve immediately the milk has warmed through.

Titi a la Fleur

For those intrigued by muttonbird but too timid to try it, Elizabeth Latham offers some encouragement to indulge in the pleasures of a deep-south delicacy.

If you enjoy sardines, anchovies and tuna then you will adore muttonbird. If you have been afraid to try it, it's time to take the leap.

It is muttonbird season now and once you know how to cook it, it will be a delicacy that you will embrace.

The English name muttonbird, given to titi, appears to have arisen from early-settler accounts in Norfolk Island where the meat was likened to mutton - not an association I would make, certainly not in terms of taste.

Titi is a bird and therefore has the flesh of a bird but the taste of fish, from the prestigious diet of fish, squid and shrimp-like krill that it feasts on during its migration from the breeding grounds of the southern hemisphere to the feeding grounds of the northern hemisphere and back again.

Titi is a seabird, the sooty shearwater, to be precise - a petrel hunted by humans for thousands of years. The harvesting of them is the domain of Rakiura Maori from Stewart Island. They have the rights to gather titi from the 36 islands known as the Titi islands, near Stewart Island. The season is from April 1 to May 21.

The sooty shearwater population worldwide is estimated at around 50 million (some accounts say 20 million, others 40 to 60 million) and they breed in New Zealand, Australia, South America and South Africa. New Zealand's breeding colony has an estimated five million pairs in 80 breeding colonies. There are claims of a diminishing population from climate change and birds becoming caught in the nets of commercial fishing operations, however the gathering of titi remains an annual ritual in the far south of this country.

Titi is available in retail outlets throughout New Zealand with about 250,000 birds harvested each year.

Young birds are harvested just as they are about to fledge. They are collected from burrows, plucked and often preserved in salt.

Guytons stock titi from the end of April. They sell for about $10 a bird. The birds are brined and will keep in this state for up to a year. The longer they spend in the brine the saltier they are and the longer the preparation time.

If you buy titi soon, you will only need to "wash" them a few times. If you are buying them later in the year you will need to wash them four to five times to get the salt level low enough to enjoy them.

Muttonbird isn't often served in restaurants but there is one place in the country you can go to and find titi regularly on the menu.

If you are lucky enough to be passing through Otago and you want a special treat, stop in Moeraki, a quintessential fishing village on the Pacific coast, and go to Fleur's Place.

Photo:Rob Corlett

Here you can experience cultural tourism at its best and be a guest of the amazing Fleur Sullivan. Fishermen come ashore in their boats right next to the restaurant and Fleur picks the fish only a few hours before it arrives on your plate. She also sources titi and this is her recipe - from her new book, Fleur's Place.

The recipe also explains how to prepare the bird. Later this year Fleur will be at NMIT with her chef, Simon Peacock, to prepare a degustation dinner based on regional seasonal food.

MUTTONBIRD WITH MAORI POTATOES AND SPINACH
2 salted muttonbirds
10 small Maori potatoes (or regular potatoes)
2 handfuls of native NZ spinach (or regular spinach)

• Place the muttonbirds in a large pot and cover with cold water. Slowly bring to the boil and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Taste the water. If it is overly salty, drain, refill with fresh cold water and repeat the process. The number of times you have to do this will depend on the amount of time the titi have been in brine.
• When the birds pass the salt test, simmer until the leg bone begins to give away from the flesh.
• Remove from the water and cool.
• Boil the potatoes until just tender. Place these in a roasting pan and place the boiled mutton bird on top.
• Grill or roast on a high heat until the skin begins to crisp and the potatoes roast in the mutton bird fat.
• Soften the spinach in the remaining fat just before serving and serve the dish with spinach oil (recipe follows).

SPINACH OIL
1 bunch of spinach, washed
1 bunch of sorrel leaves, washed
100ml sesame oil
500ml of olive oil
1 lemon, juiced

• Salt and pepper In a food processor, place the spinach and sorrel and process until smooth. Drizzle in both oils, add the lemon juice and season. Pass through a sieve and serve surrounding the mutton bird.

PHILLIP'S MUTTONBIRD MASH
This is a recipe that extends the flavour of muttonbird and allows a larger number of people to enjoy the experience. For 4 to 6 people.

500g swedes and potatoes for the mash
1-2 mutton birds

• Prepare the mutton bird as described in the Fleur recipe. Reserve the water from the last boil of the titi. After boiling the bird, open it up so it can be put flat under the grill. Grill until the skin turns golden. Remove the skin from the bird and reserve. When the bird has cooled enough to handle, cut the flesh from the bones and shred into small pieces.
• Meanwhile boil the swede and potato in the water from the titi. When cooked, mash with butter and milk and pepper to taste (you shouldn't need any salt).
• Mix the shredded titi through the mash. Serve on individual plates with watercress tossed in olive oil and lemon juice. Add a little crisp skin to each plate.
• A true entree from Aotearoa New Zealand.