Oysters with gazpacho

Name: Oysters with gazpacho
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 8-12
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 500g ripe red tomatoes; 100g Lebanese cucumber, peeled; 100g deseeded light-green or yellow capsicum; 50g peeled white onion; 1 small garlic clove, peeled and grated; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 25ml sherry vinegar; ¼ cup best-quality, fruity, extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve; 2 dozen of your favourite oysters; Aleppo or Korean chilli flakes (optional)

Danielle Alvarez

November 29, 2024

Serve the gazpacho dressing ice-cold. William Meppem

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:8-12

Oysters are an Australian Christmas staple, but sometimes you want something more festive than the usual lemon or mignonette. If that’s the case, this bright-red, vinegar-spiked gazpacho is a perfect accompaniment. Serve your oysters ice-cold and you’ll begin the meal feeling light, refreshed and ready to indulge.

Ingredients

500g ripe red tomatoes
100g Lebanese cucumber, peeled
100g deseeded light-green or yellow capsicum
50g peeled white onion
1 small garlic clove, peeled and grated
1 tsp fine sea salt
25ml sherry vinegar
¼ cup best-quality, fruity, extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
2 dozen of your favourite oysters
Aleppo or Korean chilli flakes (optional)

Method

Step 1
Roughly chop the tomatoes, discarding the stems, and combine in a blender – or in a jug, if using a hand-held blender – with the cucumber, capsicum, onion and garlic. Add the fine sea salt. Blend on high for about a minute before adding the vinegar and slowly pouring in the olive oil while the machine runs.
Step 2
Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl or jug and pour the pureed contents of the blender into it, pushing the soup through the mesh with a spatula. Discard the pulp, cover the bowl tightly and chill the gazpacho for at least 6 hours or overnight. It may thicken a little overnight, but it can be thinned out the following day with an extra splash of vinegar or ice water. You want a consistency that’s similar to pure cream.
Step 3
Arrange the opened oysters on a platter of ice. Keep the gazpacho ice-cold until the moment of serving. When ready, pour the gazpacho into a jug and pour a little over each oyster in the shell. Garnish with an extra drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of chilli flakes, if using. Serve the extra gazpacho on the side.