Raise your hand if you’re a fellow oyster lover. Around here we love raw seafood be it for making aguachile, a simple but delicious scallop crudo recipe, or eating oysters a Pomegranate Mignonette recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re a big fan of oysters, then you likely know that fresh, high quality ones don’t need any sort of garnish or sauce. In fact, purists will insist that you have nothing at all on the oyster or at maximum, a squeeze of lemon.
But if you’re having more than a few oysters, it’s fun to switch it up and add a sauce and our favorite is a mignonette. This pomegranate mignonette recipe is a twist on that classic French sauce made with pomegranate juice and then frozen for a flaky, icy mignonette granita.
Recipe Ingredients
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this pomegranate mignonette recipe:
For The Pomegranate Mignonette Granita:
- Vinegar: Use red wine vinegar like in classic mignonette sauce or Champagne vinegar
- Pomegranate Juice: Get high-quality pomegranate juice as this is a key ingredient.
- Shallot: You’ll use a lot of shallot as that is the key to a great mignonette.
- Sugar: We add a touch of sugar to balance the tartness of the pomegranate juice.
- Black Pepper: Don’t skimp on the pepper — it adds a welcome zing!
For Serving:
- Oysters: Get the freshest oysters you can find!
- Pomegranate Arils: Fresh pomegranate arils (the seeds) bring texture to each bite.
How To Make This Recipe
These are the instructions to make this pomegranate mignonette recipe:
- Make The Granita Base: Combine the vinegar, pomegranate juice, shallot, sugar, and black pepper in a 1 to 2 quart glass or metal dish and stir until sugar melts. Place the uncovered container on a level shelf in the freezer for an hour.
- Shave The Granita: Remove the mixture from the freezer and, using a large fork, gently stir any ice crystals that have formed on the sides of the pan back into the liquid, not breaking them up entirely. Return the granita to the freezer and repeat scraping every 45 to 60 minutes until the whole mixture has the texture of shaved ice, about 3 hours.
- Open The Oysters: Before serving, scrape the granita with a fork to fluff it and allow it to “dry” in the freezer another 20 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, open the oysters.
- Serve The Oysters: To serve the oysters, simply top them with a small spoonful of the granita and, if desired, top with pomegranate arils, and serve.
What To Serve With This Pomegranate Mignonette
This recipe is an elegant appetizer that would be right at home at a chic cocktail party. A few cocktails we’d serve along with this pomegranate mignonette are:
How To Open An Oyster
This pomegranate mignonette recipe is super simple to make — the hardest part is opening the oyster. If you plan on eating the oysters as soon as you return from the store and are intimidated by opening an oyster, ask if they’ll do it for you at the store. Of course, it’ll be a bit precarious for you to carry but they’ll be ready to go as soon as you get home.
Otherwise, you’ll want to open them yourself. To do so, you’ll need a flat surface, a kitchen towel, and an oyster knife. Here are step-by-step instructions for how to open an oyster — keep in mind you might need a few attempts before you master it but it’s a skill worth having if you plan to eat oysters a lot!
- Secure The Oyster Shell: First, place the oyster on a flat surface with the cup side down and hold the oyster securely with a towel.
- Find The Hinge: Locate the hinge of the shell. Carefully slide the knife into the oyster and rotate it gently like you’re turning a door knob and the hinge should pop open.
- Open The Shell: Once your knife is able to get into the oyster shell, carefully run it along the inside edge of the top shell to detach the oyster meat from the shell. Try not to break off any shards of shell or to spill out the delicious “liqueur” or liquid that’s in the shell.
- Remove The Meat: Finally remove the oyster meat from the bottom shell by gently scraping the knife along the inside of the bottom shell. Serve immediately on ice.
Frequently Asked Questitons
A tangy sauce made with shallots, vinegar, and black pepper, classic mignonette sauce is one of the go-to garnishes for oysters. Here we take that combination, add in some tart, bright pomegranate juice and then freeze it for a modern take on the classic.
Truth be told we haven’t seen a mignonette granita all that often and it’s a shame because it’s a really easy and interesting twist on classic mignonette sauce. We love that it keeps the oysters super cold and adds a bite of flavor.
You really want to buy shellfish within about 12 to 24 hours of when you plan to serve and eat them (and don't store them anymore than 48 hours). Make sure to tell the fishmonger that you plan to eat the oysters raw so that they pick the freshest ones for you.
Then, as soon as you get home from the store, do the following:
Discard any oysters with damaged shells or off putting odor. The oysters should have a mineraly, briney smell that reminds you of a nice ocean breeze!
To store them, place the oysters in a colander set inside a dish (with a rim that can catch any melting water) then cover with a damp towel and a few pieces of ice or an ice pack. Don't put ice directly on the shellfish as it could kill them. Finally, store the oysters in the coldest part of your fridge, which tends to be the back bottom shelf.
Eat enough shellfish and you’ll eventually hear the rule that you should only eat shellfish in months that end in the letter "r." There is and isn't truth to this concept because outside of this time of year there is a risk of red algae blooms and it's often when shellfish are reproducing and when they tend to not be as tasty.
The reality is that these days the majority of our shellfish is commercially farmed so these issues are closely monitored and you can generally eat shellfish throughout the year.
See The Pomegranate Mignonette Made
Heads up that Aida made this recipe on her IGTV so head there to check it out! Okay, go stock up on all your cooking essentials then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
Oysters With Pomegranate Mignonette Granita Recipe
Ingredients
For The Pomegranate Mignonette Granita:
- 1/2 cup champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar or granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
For Serving:
- 24 very fresh raw oysters
- pomegranate arils for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Make The Granita Base: Combine the vinegar, pomegranate juice, shallot, sugar, and black pepper in a 1 to 2 quart glass or metal dish and stir until sugar melts. Place the uncovered container on a level shelf in the freezer for an hour.
- Shave The Granita: Remove the mixture from the freezer and, using a large fork, gently stir any ice crystals that have formed on the sides of the pan back into the liquid, not breaking them up entirely. Return the granita to the freezer and repeat scraping every 45 to 60 minutes until the whole mixture has the texture of shaved ice, about 3 hours.
- Open The Oysters: Before serving, scrape the granita with a fork to fluff it and allow it to “dry” in the freezer another 20 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, open the oysters (see above for instructions).
- Serve The Oysters: To serve the oysters, simply top them with a small spoonful of the granita and, if desired, top with pomegranate arils, and serve.
