Oysters On The Half Shell With Watermelon Granita Recipes

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL WITH WATERMELON GRANITA

Steps:

• Puree watermelon in a blender until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a 5-by-9-inch nonreactive loaf pan; discard solids. Stir in lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze until firm, about 3 hours.
• Scrape granita with a fork until fluffy. Freeze again while shucking oysters.
• Shuck oysters, and arrange on a bed of crushed ice. Garnish ice with lemon zest. Top each oyster with 1 to 2 teaspoons granita toward the narrow end of the oyster shell.

KUMAMOTO OYSTERS WITH PONZU GRANITA AND TOBIKO

Steps:

• Make granita:
• Bring kombu and water to a simmer in a small saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Discard kombu. Transfer 5 tablespoons kombu broth to a bowl along with remaining granita ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. (Reserve remaining broth for another use.)
• Pour granita mixture into an 8-inch metal baking pan and freeze, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork every 20 minutes, until evenly frozen, about 1 hour. Scrape with a fork to lighten texture, crushing any lumps.
• Open oysters and assemble dish:
• Wearing protective glove, hold an oyster, flat side up, and open it at its narrow point with oyster knife. Loosen oyster from top shell with oyster knife if necessary, discarding top shell, then loosen oyster meat within curved bottom shell, keeping it in shell. Discard any loose bits of shell. Arrange oyster on bed of seaweed and repeat with remaining oysters in same manner.
• Top each oyster with a scant 1/4 teaspoon tobiko. Serve granita on the side.

OYSTERS WITH BLOODY MARY GRANITA

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch square nonreactive baking dish with plastic wrap. Puree tomatoes and juice, vodka, hot sauce, lemon juice, salt, peppers, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup water in a blender. Pour into prepared baking dish. Chill in freezer, scraping every 30 minutes with fork, until frozen, 2 to 3 hours.
• Shuck oysters, leaving them on the half shell. Arrange on a bed of crushed ice. Top each with 1 teaspoon granita, and serve immediately garnished with horseradish and celery leaves.