Charleston Wine & Food Festival Recipe Contest: Oysters & Clams Recipes

Remember the Lamb & Butternut Squash Wonton Ravioli recipe I posted for the first part of the  BB&T Charleston Wine and Food Lambs and Clams Original Recipe Contest?

It is time for Challenge #2!

For the second challenge, I received 25 Rappahannock River Oysters, 25 Olde Salt Middleneck Clams and a shucking knife.

Yes! I would have to shuck the oysters myself. I was TERRIFIED! 

But I had little choice but to give shucking a try. I watched a few youtube videos, said a few prayers, and got to business.

I decided to serve most of the oysters raw with my own version of a mignonette sauce and to fry a few of the remaining oysters.

As far as the clams, I cooked them as I would mussels: white wine, shallots and a few extra ingredients. Add a baguette, and you have a great meal.

See, you get three recipes in one post! And a ton of photos.

Raw Oysters with Cucumber & Shallot Mignonette

Ingredients

Oysters, shucked

kosher salt


for the mignonette

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled and seeded cucumber

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

Directions

1. Place the oysters in their shells on a bed of kosher salt.  Be careful not to spill any of the oyster liquid.

2. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the mignonette and serve with the oysters.

Fried Oysters with Curry Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

oysters, shucked and cut into bite size pieces
1 egg
flour seasoned with salt and pepper {I actually used a special mix meant for fried curds that I bought during my vacation in Madison}
canola oil for frying 

for the dipping sauce
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt to taste
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
{if you have leftovers of the sauce, use it as a dressing for potato salad or as a dipping sauce for crudites}

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, whisk an egg. Add oysters and coat them with the whisked egg.
2. Add seasoned flour to a flat plate. Remove the oysters from the egg mixture and drench them with flour.
3. In a small saucepan, heat oil. You want the oil to be about 1/3" deep. Carefully add the drenched oysters and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side.
4. Remove the fried oysters from the oil and let them sit on a paper towel.

5. In a separate bowl, combine all the ingredients for the curry yogurt sauce and serve with the fried oysters.

Clams with Lemon Grass & Red Jalapenos

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 stalk lemon grass (bottom part only), halved and chopped

1 shallot, sliced

1/2-1 red jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped {if you can find a Thai chili pepper, use that!}

salt & pepper

3/4 cup white wine

25 clams

10 Thai basil leaves, chopped

1 baguette
 

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large bottomed shallow pan with a tight fitting lid.


2. Add lemongrass and saute for two minutes.

3. Add the shallots and jalapenos and saute for two more minutes.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Add the wine and bring everything to a simmer and continue simmering for three minutes.

6. Add the clams to the wine sauce, cover with the lid and let clams cook until they have completely opened.

7. Garnish the clams with basil and serve in bowls with large chunks of a baguette.

In the next few days please also check out my competitors' recipes:

Peter @ A Cook Blog Lynda @ Taste Food Blog 
David @ eat drink RI
Gwen @ Bunkycooks
Heather @ Farmgirl Gourmet
Cecilia @ One Vanilla Bean
Vivek @ Vivek’s Epicurean Adventure

I want to thank my friend Cindy and her daughter Laila for coming over and feasting on oysters and clams with me. Special thank you to Laila for taking recipe notes ;)

Have YOU ever cooked with oysters and or clams? What did you make?

PS I will add the link to voting once it's up.

• Share this on del.icio.us
• Digg this!
• Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon
• Share this on Reddit
• Add this to Google Bookmarks
• Tweet This!
• Share this on Facebook
• Subscribe
• Buzz up!