Hello friends, I’m back. The old adage that time heals all wounds has lasted so long because it is true. I have had my period of grief. And whilst it is still not entirely gone, facing each day without tears is getting easier. And what better way to celebrate my return than with a spicy starter from the land of the long white cloud! Today’s New Zealand Oyster Cocktail recipe comes from Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). The book says that New Zealand men like food with no frills or foreign touches. Based on the two recipes I’ve made, my summary of New Zealand food is not “no frills” but “Ugly Delicious”.
This recipe was somewhat nostalgic for me as back in the day, our local pub used to do a “Bloody Mary Oyster Shot” as an starter. The New Zealand Oyster Cocktail had a very similar vibe. These aren’t pretty! But the best part about ugly delicious is the delicious. And these met that brief in spades, even without the added sprinkle of nostalgia!
New Zealand Oyster Cocktail – The Recipe
If you are entertaining and want a starter that takes less than a minute to make but has a wow factor and as mentioned tastes great, then the New Zealand Oyster Cocktail is for you!
My Variations
- The recipe calls for Tomato Sauce which to me means ketchup. We’re classy people here at Retro Food for Modern Homes and ketchup is reserved for chips and pies. I used tomato juice which also added to the Bloody Mary feel.
- For my piquant Table Sauce I used a mix of Tabasco and Worchestershire.
- I made a little jug of the tomato juice, Tabasco, Worchestershire, Lemon juice and seasonings and added that to the oysters instead of adding each of these individually as the recipe suggests
- Finally my serviing glasses were only large enough for one oyster but I prefer the idea of an indidivual serve rather than muliple oysters in the one cup!
- You can also ditch the glasses all togther and pour your combined sauce and seasonings into the shell itself! This, to my eye looks a bit prettier but is harder to eat without spilling tomato juice all over yourself!
- If you wanted to ramp up the Bloody Maryness of these, add a little splash of Vodka into your tomato juice mix!
Have a great week!
