Oyster and root vegetable soup

Tam West

This versatile soup will serve from 4 to 6 people with 4-6 oysters per bowlful, the amount depending upon how many oysters you have available! Warren used Mahurangi Oysters here and he spent the day on their Shuckle Ferry. You can read all about it here and see how to shuck oysters for yourself.

Ingredients

1	Leek, evenly diced
1	Parsnip, evenly diced
1	Potato, evenly diced
1	Onion, evenly diced
3	Garlic cloves, crushed
1 knob	Fresh ginger, small, finely grated
2 ½ cups	Fish stock, hot (Main)
1 cup	Water
1	Bouquet garni, a tied bundle of parsley stalks, thyme and bay leaves
1	Lemon, zest and juice
24	Oysters, use up to 36 oysters, just shucked, their liquor reserved (Main)
1 dash	Cream, per serving
1 handful	Coriander sprigs, for serving, or use parsley sprigs if you prefer

Directions

1. Cut leek, parsnip, potato and onion into even dice and fry gently withcrushed garlic and finely grated ginger in olive oil until soft.Add hot fish stock, water and bundle of fresh herbs.
2. Simmer until vegetables are completely soft, remove from heat, remove herbs, add the lemon zest and juice, cover and rest 5 minutes. Blend until smooth and season to taste.
3. To serve, reheat soup, thinning with the oyster liquor to taste, and spoon into bowls, adding 4-6 whole or choppedoysters per bowl, a swirl of cream and a sprig of coriander or parsley.

Make it different

Take this pureed soup wherever you want it to go. Try kumara, jerusalem artichoke or celeriac as different flavour profiles. Use chicken stock instead of fish.

More of Warren's oyster recipes

• Grilled oysters with garlic butter
• Fresh oyster hors d'oeuvres
• Carpetbag bites