Oysters three ways

SERVES 2 AS A STARTER

FRESH OYSTERS WITH A BEER VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) Belgian fruit beer, such as Kriek or Framboise

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon snipped chives

1½ teaspoons finger lime pulp (‘roe’)(see note)

6 oysters, on the shell

Fresh oysters with a beer vinaigrette dressing

Put the beer and sugar in a small saucepan over gentle heat and reduce down to about 3 tablespoons. Pour into a bowl and, when cooled, whisk in the vegetable oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the snipped chives. Spoon some of the beer vinaigrette over a fresh oyster and top with about ¼ teaspoon of finger lime pulp.

STOUT-BATTERED OYSTERS

3 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour

330 ml (11¼ fl oz) Coopers Best Extra Stout

6 oysters, on the shell

vegetable or peanut oil, for deep-frying

Stout-battered oysters

The secret of getting a really good crispy batter is to have the batter as cold as possible — make it in a bowl that is sitting over another bowl filled with ice. Put the flour into the top bowl with a pinch of salt (and any other herbs or spices you want) and then pour in some of the stout. Stir the batter but don’t overwork it. Make the batter as thick or thin as you prefer — for this dish it should be a thinner batter than you would use for beer-battered fish.

Fill a deep-fryer, wok or heavy-based saucepan one-third with oil and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Remove the oysters from their shells and dip them into the batter. Let the excess drain off for about half a second and then fry batches of the oysters until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on crumpled paper towel. Put the oysters back onto their shells for serving.

SALT AND PEPPER OYSTERS WITH A MEDITERRANEAN SALSA

1 tablespoon very finely diced red onion

1 tablespoon very finely chopped kalamata olives

1 tablespoon finely chopped tomato flesh (peel the tomato, remove the seeds and reserve some juice)

3 tablespoons rice flour

6 oysters, on the shell

vegetable or peanut oil, for shallow-frying

Salt and pepper oysters with a Mediterranean salsa

Mix together the onion, olives and tomato to make a salsa.

Place the rice flour and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl and give it all a mix.

Remove the oysters from their shells and coat them in the flour, dusting off any excess. Fry the oysters in vegetable or peanut oil until coloured and crisp. Drain on some paper towel and then put the oysters back onto their shell for serving.

Place a teaspoon of the salsa on top of each oyster. Spoon a little of the reserved tomato liquid over the salsa.

If you can’t find finger limes, use finely diced lime flesh. Finger limes are seasonally available from select greengrocers.