Serves 4
Ingredients
55g smoked bacon lard, cut into cubes
100ml spring water
Bunch of flat-leaf parsley
12 Gillardeau oysters
2 gelatine leaves
A bunch of cress, stems removed
8 pink radishes
7g fresh grated horseradish
Olive oil
4 scallops
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put the lard and spring water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat. Cover and seal with cling film and leave to infuse until it has cooled completely. Select half the largest sprigs from the bunch of parsley and cook in a pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Lift out and plunge into a bowl of iced water immediately, then drain.
Carefully open and remove the oysters from their shells over a large bowl to catch any juices from the shells. Strain into a clean bowl and set aside in the fridge. Blend the parsley in a food processor until as smooth as possible, and then pass the resulting purée through muslin to extract the green juice.
Strain the lard-infused water, and then mix with the parsley water and the oyster juices. Add the oyster water slowly and taste as you do so in order to achieve a balanced flavour, neither too salty nor too smoked.
Soak 1 gelatine leaf in a bowl of cold water until soft. Measure out 175ml of the smoked parsley water. Heat about 35ml of this water in a bowl in a microwave.
Lift the gelatine out of the water and squeeze out excess then add to this warm water and whisk in to dissolve it. Remove from the heat and add the rest of the cold parsley water. Divide the liquid equally between four deep serving plates and place in the fridge for at least four hours to set.
Blanch the cress in salted, boiling water for 1–2 minutes. Cool immediately in ice-cold water, then drain without pressing down on the leaves. Blend in a food processor to make a smooth purée.
Soak the remaining gelatine leaf in a bowl of cold water. Measure out 135g of the cress purée. Heat half in a small saucepan and add the gelatine, whisking to dissolve it. Remove from the heat and add the rest of the cress purée. Check the seasoning. Cover a tray with cling film then use a spatula to spread this purée out; it should be about 5mm thick. Leave to set in the fridge for 2 hours.
Grate the radishes and mix with the horseradish, adding a dash of olive oil. Set aside in the fridge. Cut out twelve 5cm x 3cm rectangles from the cress ‘slab’ then return to the fridge.
To serve, slice each scallop into three. Place three cress rectangles on top of the set parsley water in each serving plate, followed by an oyster on each rectangle. Season each oyster with ½ tsp of the pink radish and horseradish mix, then cover each oyster with a scallop slice.