Oysters are one of the most well-known aphrodisiacs, its funny to imagine that they were once commonplace, eaten by all. Oysters are an acquired taste…or rather an acquired texture. However if you do enjoy them, or know that your dinner guests do, they can be a very indulgent (yet easy) starter. Add a few candles to the table and you can set up a romantic starter for a date night in too.

This recipe adds a chilli and ginger dressing to serve with the oysters, which is simple to make and adds a splash of colour as well as a little extra zing.

There is a special technique to open (“shuck”) oysters. You can search for plenty of demonstration videos online or you can ask your fish monger to do it for you. If you do it yourself, you’ll need a tea towel and small, strong, pointed sharp knife.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

• Oysters (3 – 4 per person)
• ½ thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 small red chilli
• ½ handful of fresh coriander leaves
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 lemons – cut into wedges
• Ice

Recipe:

1. Fill a serving dish with ice, which will help keep the oysters chilled whilst they’re being enjoyed.
2. To make the dressing, grate the ginger, finely chop the chilli (seeds removed) and coriander and add to a food blender. Add the sugar and rice wine vinegar and then blitz for 10 – 15 seconds to make sure everything is well combined and the chilli and coriander are finely chopped.
3. Tip the dressing into a serving dish to go with the oysters
4. Open (shuck) the Oysters and present them on the ice. Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve immediately.