Author Notes: I originally entered this recipe in the “Recipe you want to be remembered for” contest. Like many of you, I struggled with what recipe to pick. I submitted this because I realized that this recipe is my favorite because it marks my evolution as a cook. The reason I am so creative is because I learned at the hip of my Gran. Starting out as her “sous chef” when I was less than three and standing on the step ladder/chair/deathtrap, I learn to stir carefully, then I am “promoted” and learn to dice precisely and eventually, cook with love and abandon.
Fast forward 45 years later…the day before I am to go on the Martha Stewart Show.
I am standing on top of the Rockefeller Center in NYC with my daughter at sunset….her college spring break and I am thinking about my legacy. My grandmother and mother before me, and now my daughter following me. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I remember attempting to recreate the oyster dish from Antoine’s (a secret recipe not shared by any employee) in New Orleans. My grandmother had a cook book with recipes from many famous restaurants, but the owners wouldn’t give this recipe.
Gran taught me to read a cookbook like a detective novel…or a romance novel, or historical fiction…but the different types of cookbooks each provided a different inspiration, a different leading lady, and could lead you to desperate thoughts (and deeds!) That cookbook haunted me. I had to figure out how to not only recreate a classic, but to unlock the secret combination of ingredients.
I’ve had a lot of fun trying to come up with a winning combination over the years, and this one is it and it has become the traditional first course at my mother’s birthday dinner, and of course, Christmas Eve,so I will be making it again in a few weeks. —lorigoldsby
Food52 Review: WHO: Lorigoldsby is a cooking class instructor and caterer who learned how to cook with her Gran.
WHAT: Oysters Rockefeller that live up to their name.
HOW: Purée your herbs and greens with butter and cheese, dollop on your oysters, top with panko and cheese, and bake.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The herbs and peppery greens in these Oysters Rockefeller take the usual buttery-breadcrumby goodness to a whole new level; each oyster feels balanced, not just indulgent. Get out a bottle of bubbly — this is a recipe to celebrate. —The Editors
Serves: 6
Ingredients
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1/4
cup chervil
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1/4
cup savory
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1
bunch watercress
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1/4
cup flat-leaf parsley
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1
bunch arugula
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1
cup baby spinach
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4
green onions
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2
cloves of garlic
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2
shallots
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2
sticks unsalted butter, divided
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1/4
ounce Pernod
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dashes Tabasco
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Kosher salt and rough cracked pepper
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24
oysters on the half shell
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1/2
cup panko bread crumbs
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1/4
cup grated Parmesan, plus extra
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1
pound rock salt
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2
lemons
Directions
- Tear herbs and greens from stems and rinse. Dry in salad spinner.
- In food processor, combine garlic and shallots, herbs, and greens with one and a half sticks of butter, cubed. Pulse a few times then add Pernod, Tabasco and kosher salt and coarse cracked pepper to taste. Pulse again until mixture is finely chopped.
- Melt 1/2 stick of butter, add to panko crumbs and parmesean cheese.
- Place rock salt in bottom of cooking tray and arrange oysters on the half shell by nestling them into the salt.
- Scoop a generous portion of the greens mixture on top of the oyster. Top with a sprinkling of the panko/cheese mixture. With a fine zester, grate additional Parmesean on top.
- Broil for 6 to 8 minutes until golden.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
- Note: If you have extra green/herb mixture, you can create a “non-oyster rockefeller” by nestling a scoop of the mixture directly on the rock salt and scooping it onto a crostini after baking. It makes a nice “chef’s treat!”
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Photo by James Ransom
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