12 December 2011

Oysters Tsarina

There was a time not too long ago, as you know, when I enjoyed oysters and champagne almost every evening. A couple of bottles of Veuve Clicquot and two dozen raw oysters on the half-shell with bank colleagues after work. It is only recently that I revived the practice, though on a slightly different scale. I read an interview with Barry Humphries in the FT over the weekend in which he mentions a dish called Oysters Tsarina (excerpt below). I am unfamiliar with it, but it sounds très delish. If you have the precise recipe, please do pass it along.

'He talks about an interview he did many years ago with a newspaper at the Savoy Hotel. “I could order whatever I wanted. So I ordered Oysters Tsarina. Oysters that you dip in sour cream, chopped onions and caviar. You slurp those down. And the chef came out, quite an elderly man, and he said, “I just wanted to say you’re the first person to have ordered Oysters Tsarina since von Ribbentrop.” He beams at this outrageous association with the Nazi foreign minister. Humphries is a connoisseur of provocation.'

'Lunch with the FT: Barry Humphries', Financial Times, 9 December 2011
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous12 December, 2011 06:59

    Did Ribbentrop not have an amazing apartment here?
    Oysters tsarina sound quite delicious, I had a nightcap in The Savoy last night, your old stomping ground sends its regards.

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  2. La Sombra Sofisticada12 December, 2011 07:34

    I loved the Ribbentrop-part!

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  3. Unknown12 December, 2011 15:08

    It seems that the ratio price-profit os those oysters is a bit unbalanced, whatever the cost would be...

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  4. Reggie Darling12 December, 2011 21:33

    Now, I am MAD to try them! Von Ribbentrop indded! Damn the cost, one must have them at least once, before death. I crave them ssoner, and oftener, however, such a decadent delicacy must be swallowed again and again, washed down with icey-cold champagne.

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  5. A.E.F.12 December, 2011 21:42

    Admiral, Another beautifully crafted piece, you old fox.

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  6. Thirty Miles At Sea12 December, 2011 21:52

    Sounds fantastic, though I usually just go for tabasco sauce and a martini on the side.

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  7. Anonymous12 December, 2011 22:22

    AD - Humphries taste in books is also to be admired... his top five included Sitwell and Roths - Radetzsky March

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  8. NJS16 December, 2011 10:05

    Oysters Czarina: shuck your dozen oysters, as usual; grate separately the yolks and whites of four hard-boiled hen's eggs (or a dozen quails' eggs); whip some cream until it peaks and add a drop of brandy to it; pour the cream over the oysters and then sprinkle the oysters first with the grated egg whites and then the egg yolks; then spoon on top the caviar of your choice. Et Voila! Serve on ice.

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