Pecan-breaded Oysters with Fresh Vanilla, Cucumbers and Tomatoes
A first course of half shell oysters crusted in pecan meal and fried to a golden brown comes to the table nestled in sprouts. The cream sauce has an unusual blend of tomatoes and cucumbers with vanilla bean.
Ingredients
- Oysters on the half shell - 16, shucked, shells reserved
- Unsalted Butter - for frying
- Pecan Meal
- Pecans - 1-1/2 cups, chopped
- All Purpose Flour - 6 tablespoons
- Sauce
- Heavy Cream - 1/2 cup
- Plum Tomatoes - 2, peeled, seeded, and diced
- Cucumber - 1, peeled, seeded, and diced
- Vanilla Beans - 2, split
- Garnish
- Assorted sprouts
Instructions
To prepare the pecan meal: Place pecan pieces in the bowl of a food processor; add flour. Process until well blended. Reserve.
To prepare the sauce: In medium saucepan over medium high heat, heat the cream to almost boiling. Add tomatoes, cucumber, and vanilla beans. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil; lower heat and cook until slightly reduced. Press vanilla beans into mixture to extract seeds into sauce. Add butter and stir to blend. Taste; season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove from heat; remove vanilla bean pods and reserve for garnish. Reserve sauce in a warm place.
To prepare the oysters: Dredge oysters in pecan meal. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter; add oysters and saute on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve: Place sprouts in the center of each serving plate. Place smaller amounts of sprouts in four places around the outer edge of each serving plate. Place a reserved oyster shell on each cluster. Spoon sauce into oyster shells, then place a fried oyster into the sauce in each shell. Drizzle more sauce over each plate. Garnish the center of each plate with reserved vanilla beans.
