By David Harbilas

This dish is all about austerity and the ingredients, which is kind of a shame because while oysters seem to be very much of the moment in the cold months tomatoes are, clearly, not about winter.

Yet citrus, oddly enough, is a winter fruit, and what better way to off-set the acid of citrus than with the sweetness of tomatoes?

The entire dish is raw, save the cured tomatoes, which are little more than seasoned tomato filets. Yet the combination of cool, spicy, and sweet is unforgettable.

Serves 2-3

4-6 oysters, shucked, left in shell
2 plum tomatoes
1 moro orange, or some other variety (such as navel), cut into segments Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Oysters are such a forgiving ingredient that it’s a wonder it doesn’t appear on more restaurant menus.

The fact of the matter is that they’re difficult to work with—shucking them is no fun, especially in large quantities.

But their built in salinity and meaty texture makes them a perfect pairing for so many accompaniments.

Here, they are partnered with the freshest tomato available and pickled celery root, as well as fresh celery leaf, which is often thrown out rather than used for its delicate and fresh flavor.

Serves 2

• 8 oysters, shucked
• ¼ cup finely diced celery root
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar ¼ cup water Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

Mignonette is a classic French sauce served with raw oysters.

A little vinegar is mixed with minced shallots and ground pepper and simply spooned onto the oyster still in its shell.

Here, a very fine dice of roasted tomato and chiffonade of basil is added to the sauce to provide a sweetness to balance out the sour of the vinegar.

This basic tomato confit (see past posts for tomato confit tart) can be stored for a fairly long time, especially if the tomatoes are submerged in olive oil, and go well with pasta, on fish, or under the skin of a roast chicken.

For 10 oysters

• 10 oysters, scrubbed
• 1 red globe tomato
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

I recently made this as a guest at another chef’s restaurant.

He had a large container filled with oysters still in their shell, in addition to some great looking heirloom tomatoes.

I figured that one of the best ways to pair the two things together was to use the tomatoes raw, so as to utilize their natural sweetness, and frying the oysters would give them some crunch and provide a contrast in the warm oysters against the cool salsa.

The bacon adds smoke, which is also provided by some spices added to the cornmeal breading.

Serves 1 appetizer portion

for the oysters:

• 5 oysters, shucked, shells reserved
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning Read the rest of this entry »