Starving? Try Oyster Poboys

ONE version of the origin of oyster poboys is that they were served to the starving and needy of New Orleans during the depression. This has to be the most delicious way of sustaining the starving that I have ever heard of!

The quantities in the following recipe should serve a couple of people.

Ingredients

• 1 French stick, about 7cm long
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Louisiana tartare sauce
• shredded lettuce
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 dozen oysters, well drained
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 cup polenta (cornmeal)
• quantity of olive oil, for frying the oysters

Preparation

• Cut the French stick into half lengthways and pull out the soft centres of the bread. Brush the inside of each half with the melted butter before lightly toasting the bread. This can be done either under the griller or in the oven.

• To cook the oysters, coat them lightly with half of the Cajun seasoning. Add the rest of the Cajun seasoning to the polenta and mix thoroughly. Add the oysters to the polenta mixture, a few at a time, tumbling gently to coat evenly.

• Heat the oil in a heavy based frypan until it is hot but not smoking. Place the oysters, a few at a time, into the frypan. Take care not to crowd the pan or the oysters will stew and the coating will ne soggy. Cook for about a minute each side before removing from the pan and draining on some paper towel. Cook the rest of the oysters in the same way.

• To assemble the poboy, arrange the lettuce and sliced tomato on one half of the toasted bread roll. Top with a generous serving of the cooked oysters and drizzle the oysters with some Louisiana tartare sauce. Place the other half of the toasted bread roll on the top and enjoy.

Louisiana Tartare Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 cup Bertolli olive oil
• generous pinch cayenne
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

• Place the egg, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and shallots into a food processor and process for about 20 seconds.

• With the processor running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube of the processor. Stop the processor and add the cayenne, mustard and salt. Pulse once or twice in short bursts until the tartare sauce is well blended.

• Refrigerate the tartare sauce for about an hour before use. The Louisiana Tartare sauce is best used within a couple of days.

The seafood in this recipe was supplied by Sam’s Seafood at Hamilton (ph. (07) 3268 7088).