Kitchen of Love - Oysters Three Ways

To celebrate Valentine's Day and aphrodisiacs (to add some spice to your Valentine), Mele Cotte is hosting a blog event with the theme of The Kitchen of Love. This involves preparing an appetizer, dinner dish or side item that includes at least one food that is considered an aphrodisiac.

I have chosen oysters as the basis of my submission, served three different ways:



According to an article in The Sydney Morning Herald, oysters are supposedly rich in rare amino acids which boost the levels of sex hormones, and Casanova purportedly ate 50 oysters for breakfast each day. However, the article warns that if you want to preserve the aphrodisiac qualities of oysters, it is best to eat them raw, as cooking oysters will eventually destroy the rare amino acids.

The first way in which I have served oysters is devilled oysters:

To make these, place your opened oysters on a grill tray, and sprinkle each one with salt and pepper to taste, curry powder and a twist of lemon. Next, place the oysters under a heated griller element and grill until the oysters just start to curl.

The next way in which I served oysters is au naturel with lemon and parsley:

This one is very simple, and is my personal favourite. Simply place your opened oysters on a serving tray, squeeze a little lemon juice over each one, and garnish each with a sprig of parsley. This method of serving allows the natural taste of the oysters to shine through.

The final way in which I served oysters is known as Oysters Kilpatrick:

For every dozen oysters, you will need 100g diced bacon, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 3 tablespoons tomato sauce and a lemon. Place the opened oysters on a grill tray and sprinkle each with diced bacon. Combine the two sauces, and spoon a little of the resulting sauce over each oyster. Grill the oysters until the bacon is cooked. Serve with lemon wedges. If you like, you can also sprinkle grated cheese over the oysters after the bacon has cooked and grill the oysters for a further period until the cheese melts.

I liked the flavour of the Oysters Kilpatrick, but found that the bacon and spicy sauce overwhelmed the flavour of the oysters. Perhaps this one would make a better pizza topping than a topping for oysters!

I hope that you enjoyed these simple ways with oysters - Happy Valentines Day! And don't forget to check the roundup of other Valentines dishes at Mele Cotte here.