Oysters Rockefeller
- Preparing Time: -
- Total Time: -
- Served Person: Makes 10 hors d'oeuvre servings
- pinch of cayenne
- 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup firmly packed watercress sprigs (2 oz before discarding coarse stems), finely chopped
- 1 1/3 cups firmly packed baby spinach (1 1/3 oz), finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped scallion greens
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced celery
- 3 tablespoons coarse fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a day-old baguette)
- 1 teaspoon pernod or other anise-flavored liquor
- 3 bacon slices
- about 10 cups kosher salt for baking and serving (3 lb)
- 20 small oysters on the half shell, oysters picked over for shell fragments and shells scrubbed well
- Carbohydrate 2 g(1%)
- Cholesterol 23 mg(8%)
- Fat 8 g(12%)
- Fiber 0 g(1%)
- Protein 2 g(5%)
- Saturated Fat 4 g(19%)
- Sodium 91 mg(4%)
- Calories 91
Preparation Toss together watercress, spinach, scallion greens, parsley, celery, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon bread crumbs in a bowl. Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then add watercress mixture and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Pernod, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste, then transfer mixture to a bowl and chill, covered, until cold, about 1 hour. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. While watercress mixture chills, cook bacon in cleaned skillet over moderate heat, turning, until crisp, then drain on paper towels and finely crumble. Spread 5 cups kosher salt in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and nestle oysters (in shells) in it. Spoon watercress mixture evenly over oysters, then top with bacon and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons bread crumbs. Bake oysters until edges of oysters begin to curl and bread crumbs are golden, about 10 minutes. Serve warm oysters in shells, nestled in kosher salt (about 5 cups), on a platter. Cooks' note:
Preparation Toss together watercress, spinach, scallion greens, parsley, celery, and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon bread crumbs in a bowl. Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then add watercress mixture and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Pernod, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste, then transfer mixture to a bowl and chill, covered, until cold, about 1 hour. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. While watercress mixture chills, cook bacon in cleaned skillet over moderate heat, turning, until crisp, then drain on paper towels and finely crumble. Spread 5 cups kosher salt in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and nestle oysters (in shells) in it. Spoon watercress mixture evenly over oysters, then top with bacon and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons bread crumbs. Bake oysters until edges of oysters begin to curl and bread crumbs are golden, about 10 minutes. Serve warm oysters in shells, nestled in kosher salt (about 5 cups), on a platter. Cooks' note:
