less than 30 mins
30 mins to 1 hour
4-6
Hairy Bikers recipes
From The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain
Ingredients
For the Essex cockle chowder
- 25g/1oz unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 rashers streaky bacon, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, peeled, finely chopped
- 250ml/9fl oz dry white wine
- 400g/14oz cooked picked cockles, rinsed thoroughly (or 1kg/2lb 2oz raw cockles, in the shells, cleaned thoroughly inside and out)
- 3 floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and chopped
- 500ml/17½l;fl oz milk
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh curly-leaved parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp double cream
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
For the oysters Mornay
- 60g/2½oz unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 500ml/17½fl oz full-fat milk
- 110g/4oz strong cheddar cheese, grated
- 24 fresh, good-quality oysters, shucked, half the shells reserved (discard any oysters that are dry inside)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh curly-leaved parsley
For the traditional oysters
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 5 tbsp finely chopped shallots
- 12-24 native or rock oysters (to taste), shucked, shells and shell juices reserved
To serve
- dash Tabasco sauce, to taste
- dash Worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- crushed ice
- buttered sourdough bread
Method
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For the Essex cockle chowder, heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the bacon and onion and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and golden-brown and the onions have softened but not coloured. Remove the onions and bacon from the pan and set aside.
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Add the wine to the pan the onions and bacon were cooked in and bring to a rolling boil.
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If using fresh cockles, add them to the pan and boil for 3-4 minutes, or the shells have opened (discard any cockles that do not open during cooking). (NB: If using cooked cockles, skip this step.)
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Remove the cockles from the pan using a slotted spoon, remove them from their shells and set aside to cool (reserve the cooking liquid).
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Continue to boil the wine until it has reduced in volume by half. Set aside and keep warm.
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Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, parboil the potatoes in salted, boiling water for 5-6 minutes, or until just tender. Drain well and set aside.
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Return the reduced cooking liquid to the heat, add the milk and parboiled potatoes and bring the mixture to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are starting to fall apart.
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Add the cooked cockles, parsley, thyme and cream to the mixture and return the cooked bacon and onion. Stir well. Heat through for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to overcook the cockles. Season, to taste, with sea salt flakes and ground white pepper.
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Meanwhile, for the oysters Mornay, preheat the grill to its highest setting.
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Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour and heat until a smooth paste forms.
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Whisk in the milk a little at a time, making sure that each addition of milk has been incorporated into the mixture and the mixture has thickened slightly before adding the next.
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When all of the milk has been incorporated into the mixture and a smooth, thick white sauce has formed, stir in half of the grated cheese and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Arrange the oysters, in their shells, in rows in a grill pan and spoon over the cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese and grill for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is golden-brown.
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Just before serving, sprinkle over the parsley.
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Meanwhile, for the traditional oysters, in a bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar and shallots and set aside for five minutes.
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Cover a serving platter with the ice. Push the shucked oysters (in their shells, with the shell juices) into the ice.
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Serve the red wine and shallot mixture alongside in a ramekin, along with the lemon wedges and small bottles of Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
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To serve, spoon the Essex cockle chowder into 4-6 serving bowls. Place the bowls onto large serving plates and divide the oysters Mornay equally among the plates. Serve with the traditional oysters, sourdough bread and butter.