Oyster Carbonara
Last month, Louisiana chef and owner of restaurants Cotton and Nonna in his hometown of Monroe, Cory Bahr showed off the state’s bounty of seafood at the Greystone Flavor Summit, held on the Culinary Institute of America’s campus in St. Helena, California. Moonlighting as a missionary for Louisiana seafood, Bahr is committed to sourcing menu items from his own back yard — the Gulf of Mexico.
Sustainability is also important to the award-winning chef. “We’ve been fishing in Louisiana for 10 or 12 generations,” he told the audience. “How irresponsible would it be not to treat Gulf waters in a sustainable fashion?”
Get Bahr’s recipe for Crispy Louisiana Shrimp with Pepper Jelly and Herb Salad.
12 each oyster with liqueur, shucked
8 oz. dried spaghetti
2 cups flour
2 cups egg wash
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
2 each egg yolk
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 oz. Parmesan
3 oz. bacon
1 shallot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Fresh cracked black pepper
Kosher salt
Canola oil for frying
In a bowl, combine flour, 10 turns of pepper and 2 teaspoons salt. Preheat the oil over medium heat to 350 degrees. Begin to cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted water to package directions. Render bacon slowly in a skillet over medium-low heat; when cooked add shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Remove the oysters from their liqueur, trying to leave as much as possible. Place the oysters in the flour and coat completely. Repeat with egg wash and bread crumbs. Fry the oysters until golden brown and crispy, set aside on a paper towel and season with salt.
Whisk the egg yolks into the oyster liqueur. When the pasta is 1 minute away from being finished, place it in the skillet with the bacon. Add the liqueur/yolk mixture. Cook over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta. Grate in half of the parmesan and toss to coat the pasta. Season with black pepper.
Place the pasta in a bowl and the fried oysters around it. Grate the remaining cheese over the entire dish.
Recipe courtesy of Chef Cory Bahr and photo courtesy of Culinary Institute of America – Greystone.
