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Potato and Rosemary Oysters
Recipe by Callum Hann
Try Callum Hann's Potato and Rosemary Oysters from the Grand Finale of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win today!
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Edible Oyster Shells
Bacon and Rosemary Glaze
Lemon and Mandarin Gel
Potato Noodles
Rosemary Salt
Smokey Oyster Mayo
Rosemary Tea
Garnish
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Steps
- Preheat a deep fryer to 160°C. Place the oyster pie tee mould in the oil to heat.
- For the Edible Oyster Shells, add potato starch, flour, oyster liquor, milk, fish sauce and egg together in a bowl. Whisk until just combined, then pass through a fine sieve to ensure no lumps.
- Halve the batter between two bowls and whisk the squid ink into one bowl. Now, pour the squid ink batter into the white batter in a zig-zag pattern. This will give you a pattern on the oyster shell to help create a more realistic look.
- Lift the hot pie tee mould out of the oil and gently shake to remove excess oil. Dip into the batter and carefully, in a rolling motion, lift the mould out of the batter. If you use a ‘dipping’ motion the batter tends to slide off the mould back into the bowl so pulling it out in a curved motion is important.
- Allow the batter to dry on the mould for 30 seconds, then dip the mould into the deep fryer.
- Cook for 1 minute, then use a paring knife or skewer to gently loosen the oyster shell from the mould. Cook for a further 30-60 seconds then use a slotted spoon to remove the crisp shell. Place on a wire cake rack until needed. Dip the mould back into the hot oil to keep it non-stick, then repeat to make 17 more oyster shells.
- Once all the shells have cooled, use a dry pastry brush to brush a little edible silver powder over the outside of each shell.
- For the Bacon and Rosemary Glaze, place bacon, oil and rosemary into a medium frypan over a low heat. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for 5-10 minutes or until bacon is very crisp and all the fat has rendered out into the pan. Drain and reserve the bacon fat.
- Weigh the fat; whatever the weight is, you want equal parts white chocolate and cocoa butter.
- Combine all three in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring, until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool to 30-35°C. Then, use a paint brush to lightly paint over the inside of each oyster shell, to create a realistic oyster effect. Set aside the crisp bacon and rosemary to garnish the oyster if desired.
- For the Lemon and Mandarin Gel, in a saucepan, weigh the mandarin juice, lemon zest and juice, and sugar. Add 1% of the weight in agar; for example if there is 100g liquid then add 1g agar.
- Bring to the boil, whisking continuously. When boiling, cook for a further 10 seconds, then pour onto a tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes or until set as a jelly.
- Puree the jelly in a small food processor to a gel consistency and transfer to a piping bag.
- For the Potato Noodles, use a Japanese lathe or mandolin to finely shave potato into long thin sheets about 2mm thick. Slice into noodles.
- Blanch noodles in heavily salted boiling water for 2 minutes or until al dente. Drain and place into iced water until serving.
- For the Rosemary Salt, place fresh rosemary and salt in a mortar and pestle and grind until bright green and smooth. Use about half to season the potato noodles and the other half as garnish.
- For the Smokey Oyster Mayo, blend egg yolk, oysters with shucking liquor, lemon zest and juice, mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small blender.
- Add grapeseed oil in a very slow steady stream, blending all the time, until the mixture thickens and emulsifies to a mayonnaise consistency. If the mix gets thick before you’ve added all the oil, then stop at that stage.
- Whisk in smoked vinegar, one teaspoon at a time, season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a piping bag.
- For the Rosemary Tea, boil the ingredients together for 5-10 minutes or until fragrant.
- When ready to serve, drain the potatoes well and season generously with rosemary salt.
- Arrange pebbles onto a large serving plate. Place oyster shells onto the pebbles. Top each with some diced apple, an oyster and a dollop of lemon mandarin gel. Place the potato noodles on top of the gel with a dollop of the oyster mayo. Garnish with remaining rosemary salt and rosemary flowers.
- If desired, place the plate of oysters onto a larger plate filled with 1/3 cup dry ice and the rosemary sprigs. At time of serving, heat rosemary tea to just below boiling point and carefully pour onto dry ice to create a rosemary scent.
