The introduction to the common shell or where oysters are eaten at nine in the morning

Before they became one of the most expensive delicacies in the world, oysters and mini mollusks were working class food, people would go into the sea, pull them out of the rock on which they would grow and just open and eat, like picking carobs, people would pick oysters.
Oysters can be found almost throughout history and almost everywhere there is a sea around the world, in ancient Rome people ate oysters to increase sexual desire, a custom soon adopted by Italians and French and even in Japan there is an entire city named after oysters that were piled on its beach for years. With rising demand and overfishing, as well as the pollution caused by the Industrial Revolution, most natural habitats were damaged and only farmland remained.

09:00 Friday morning

It’s nine o’clock in the morning and each of us is holding a fresh oyster in our hand, pouring a little lemon on it and slicing it into his gut. For some of the guys next to me this is the first time and the process is not the easiest for them, yet the texture is not easy to swallow and once you try to chew it becomes a difficult situation – but damn it is delicious!

Welcome to a lesson on seafood with Chef Roy Sofer, a lesson in which you will learn about mollusks, how to clean, how to identify that they are not spoiled and how to prepare them in the simplest way or with a sauce that will blow your palate. In short another fascinating cooking lesson. Shall we start?

Roi Sofer and Oysters (Photo: Osnat Guetta)

Did you know?

The first thing Roy does, other than give us a taste, is explain a bit about those mollusks we like to devour.
The oyster is actually a shellfish (close to snails and squid) that is covered in a shell that protects it. .
There are a huge abundance of edible oysters in the world, only a few of which come to us – fresh or frozen, and Roy tries to make us some order in some of them and connect flavors to each one.

• Oyster – A relatively large oyster, in a gray hue and a look reminiscent of stone. Is considered the queen of oysters. It is customary to eat it raw, it tastes very marine and varies according to its growing area, today most oysters come from growing farms with the best known being the Gillardo farm which is in France. Studies have found that oysters contain a rare amino acid that increases the production of sex hormones. The oyster can be eaten with vinegar or lemon, but if it is fresh – just cook it and enjoy the wonderful seafood taste.
• Scallop And Cookie Saint-Jacques – a light and round shellfish stored in a fan-shaped oyster. The scallop is an American variety and the cookie is a more selected European variety and its taste is sweet. Both types are fleshy and can be obtained fresh from the Netherlands or frozen from Denmark
• Mulim Relatively small black oysters. There are about 17 types of mussels in the world, with only 2 types coming to us. The oyster meat is orange in color and its texture is chewy. They are considered more popular and you can find them in the amount of half a kilo with butter and white wine alongside beer and chips or in a paella. In Israel there are high-quality fresh mussels, so it is recommended to avoid the frozen ones.– Mussels that do not open and do not eat!
• Wengoli Called in English clams – small and intense oysters with a very rich marine flavor. Very common in Italy, where it is customary to combine them with pasta dishes because of their rich taste that is secreted during cooking and strengthens the sauce. In the United States they are also commonly used in soups with corn, potatoes and cream.

before and after. Mussel and shrimp pasta (Photo: Osnat Guetta)

As always happens to us after too much talk, hunger starts to beat and we start making a quick recipe that will soothe the hunger a bit so we can focus on the rest of this day, still 5 more recipes ahead of us (how lucky we are not washing dishes at the end).

Mussel pasta and shrimp

• 350 grams of spaghetti or linguini – the recipe is suitable for 2 dishes
• 250 grams of mussels
• 200 grams of peeled and clean shrimp
• A quarter cup of olive oil
• 2 cloves of sliced ​​garlic
• 2 coarsely chopped tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• A handful of chopped parsley
• Half a glass of dry white wine

How to prepare: Boil in a pot of water and salt for pasta. At the same time, heat olive oil, garlic and chilli in a large pan – be careful not to burn the garlic. Remove from the heat when the garlic is translucent. When the water is boiling put in the pasta and about 5 minutes before the pasta is ready return the pan to the heat, add the mussels and shrimp and mix with a wooden spoon, add tomatoes and white wine and stir until the alcohol evaporates. Check if the mussels have opened – unopened mussels are thrown in the trash! Strain the pasta and transfer to a pan, season with salt and pepper and mix well to absorb all the flavors, sprinkle with parsley, season if necessary and serve hot with dry white wine.

Let’s talk about flavors

Oysters have a salty and seay taste, but not all of them, the St. Jacques cookie (scallop) are sweet, the razor is delicate in its saltiness and the wangli are a huge umami. The seafood flavor can be mobilized to strengthen the sauces in a dish instead of salt. No matter what you choose – you will be happy to know that oysters are rich in minerals and protein and low in fat and should not be overcooked!

Oysters It is recommended to eat raw and without anything to enjoy their rich taste, maxed out with lemon or wine vinegar. For those who have a hard time with the texture, Roy Super prepares smoked salsa with fried bacon, chili and tomatoes which he mixes with chopped oyster and vinegar. delicacy.

St. Jacques / Scallop Cookie Will love any sauce, because of the same sweetness found in the shellfish meat, the beat will already be sweet. It is recommended to burn it in butter, a lot of butter and play with a gentle spiciness. Can be prepared with you on a pan, grill, in a sauce and even chopped raw. Do not overcook otherwise the meat will become sticky.

Mussels– If you are already buying mussels for home preparation, it is worth investing and purchasing the fresh ones. Although they are more expensive, their texture is completely different and you can find quite a few fresh mussel places. In the winter months the season is at its peak and in the summer months it is their breeding season so they have a smell not something.
Mussels, like all seafood, will love fat and especially butter. It is important to give them flavor enhancers such as garlic, lemon and onion and maple made whatever you want in them, in a pot with butter and white wine, in pasta, in cream sauce and of course in rich paella. Some places even fry them like schnitzel. Here, too, it is not recommended to overdo cooking and not to forget- Mussels that do not open in cooking – do not eat

St. Jacques cookie. Little bites of fun (Photo: Osnat Guetta)

And if we are talking about interesting sauces – get an amazing and unconventional recipe that will come great in both pasta and as a sauce on its own

Chili sauce and carrots

• 2/3 fresh carrot juice
• 5 grams of coriander seeds
• 30 ml spicy fresh chili juice (chili squeezed in a juice machine or just grind and strain)
• 30 ml grape seed oil
• 3 ml yuzu juice (can be put canned and if there is really no choice then lemon)
• A pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar

Preparation: In a small pot, reduce the carrot and chili juice and coriander seeds to 3-4 tablespoons. Remove from the heat
Using a blender rod, grind and begin to drizzle the oil and yuzu until an emulsion (uniform sauce) is formed. Keep at Ban Mary until served.
Perfect with scalloped scallops, and also as a base for shrimp and mussel pasta sauce. You guys still thank me for this sauce.

Just to reassure you, we have prepared 3 more recipes with prawns, mussels and shrimps and this is only the first lesson, in the second lesson you will already learn about lobsters, squid and squid. It’s going to be fun!