Saveur - April-May 2017

69

2 Tbsp. finely diced dried
chorizo (½ oz.)

1 Begin the brown butter
hollandaise: In a small, heavy-
bottomed saucepan over
medium heat, add the but-
ter. Cook, swirling the pan
constantly, until the butter
is golden brown and smells
nutty, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a small bowl to
cool slightly.

2 Meanwhile, make the
mignonette: In a small bowl,
combine the red wine vine-

gar and shallot; season with a

pinch of salt and pepper and

set aside.

3 In a blender, add the white

wine vinegar, ¼ teaspoon

kosher salt, and the egg

yolks. With the motor run-

ning, trickle in the brown

butter very slowly, leaving

behind the browned solids

(discard the solids). Continue

blending until all the butter

has been added and the mix-

ture is thickened and creamy.

Transfer to a bowl, and whisk

in up to 1 tablespoon of water

as needed to thin hollandaise

to the consistency of loosely

whipped cream.

4 Prepare the oysters: In a

small skillet over medium-

high heat, melt the

butter. Once foaming, add

the spinach and cook, stir-

ring occasionally, until wilted,

about 2 minutes. Remove

and set aside.

5 Preheat the broiler and line

the bottom of a baking sheet

with aluminum foil. Mean-

while, shuck the oysters,

leaving the meat and juices

in the bottom shell. Trans-

fer to the prepared baking

sheet, scrunching up the foil

beneath the shells or tuck-

ing the top shells under the

bottom shells as needed to

keep them level. Top each

oyster with some of the spin-

ach leaves, a few pieces of

diced chorizo, and a generous

spoonful of hollandaise.

6 Broil until the hollandaise is

lightly browned, 2–3 minutes.

Remove and serve immedi-

ately with the mignonette.

MUSSELS WITH

COCONUT SWEET

CHILI BROTH

SERVES 4–6

Total: 15 min.

Sinéad Roche and Thomas

Ashe of Ashe’s Bar and Res-

taurant have incorporated

flavors from their culinary

travels through Thailand into

this dish, marrying South-

east Asian ingredients with

local Glenbeigh mussels, for-

aged from the rocky coast

along Ding le Bay. At Ashe’s,

they serve the mussels with

homemade bread or twice-

fried chunky potato chips for

sopping up the gently spicy

coconut broth.

For the chile paste:

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cilantro

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 Tbsp. chopped

shallot

1 Tbsp. freshly ground

black pepper

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 Tbsp. pickled ginger

1 Tbsp. Thai sweet chili

sauce

5 mild to medium-heat

red chiles, halved and

seeded

1 stalk lemongrass, cut

into 1-inch pieces

Finely grated zest of

2 limes

For the mussels:

4 lb. mussels, scrubbed

1¼ cups coconut milk

¼ cup cilantro, chopped,

for garnish

Bread, for serving

1 Make the chile paste: In a

food processor, combine the

sugar, cilantro, garlic, shallot,

pepper, salt, pickled ginger,

chili sauce, chiles, lemon-

grass, and lime zest; process

until a paste forms, 1–2 min-

utes. (Paste can be made

ahead and stored in a covered

container up to 1 week.)

2 Prepare the mussels: In a

large Dutch oven or pot over

medium-high heat, whisk

1½ cups water with 4–5 table-

spoons of the prepared paste;

bring the liquid to a boil, then

add the mussels. Cover the

pot and cook until the mus-

sels have opened, about

4 minutes (discard any mus-

sels that do not open).

3 Remove from heat and stir

in the coconut milk. Garnish

with the chopped cilantro

and serve immediately with

bread for dipping.