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RECIPE: Oysters with Jenny’s Cilantro Lime Mignonette
Description
A mignonette sauce is typically made from vinegar, shallots, and black pepper, and spooned onto oysters and clams on the half shell. Mignonettes add a bit of sharpness to the briny, creamy oysters. Jenny Appleton, who visits the Vineyard each summer from California, adapted the signature oyster topping from California’s Hog Island Oyster Company on Tomales Bay. It has a wonderful flavor from the rice vinegar—more mellow than most red wine vinegars. Seasoned rice vinegar contains a bit of sugar and salt and balances with the unseasoned vinegar here in this adaptation. Jenny sometimes makes it spicy, adding a small amount of chopped jalapeño.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 dozen oysters
For the Mignonette
- 2 Tbsps finely minced shallot (1 small shallot)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsps freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)
- 2 to 3 Tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 tsp. minced jalapeño (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the shallot, the 2 rice vinegars, lime juice, and cilantro together in a small bowl. Set aside while you open the oysters. If you prep the mignonette early in the day, keep the cilantro on the side to preserve its bright color.
- Serve the mignonette with a small spoon and let each person add their own, approximately ¼ to ½ teaspoon per oyster.
