Just realized that my cooking portion can be quite extreme. It's either big servings, like enough for five to six full meals at once, or just a tiny amount to sustain a light lunch for one.
That means most of the time I'll use up the entire pack of pasta at once, usually 500 grams. But this time around, since I only have 6 oysters in the fridge, it's either one serving takes all, or 5 to 6 servings and each get only one oyster. The later sounds a bit sad, so it's been decided. Let's have a well-fed recipe for single person only, all 6 oysters for the winner.
Oyster and shiso peperoncino -
Ingredients (one serving)?
- 6 oysters
- 2 shiso leaves
- 100 grams pasta (I used linguine)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 dried red chili
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Some salt
- Some oyster cooking water
How?
Peel and slice the garlic clove. Slice the chili into rings if possible. Mine actually broke into tiny pieces instead. Roll up the shiso leaves and slice to thin strips.
Add some water to a medium large pot and bring to almost boiling temperature. Add in the oysters and cook till about 80% cooked through. Save some of that oyster-cooking water then scoop out the oysters. Don't discard the water, we'll continue to use that to cook the pasta.
So add more water so we'll have enough liquid to cook the pasta. Season with few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil then cook the pasta. We're fully utilizing the oyster-cooking water here and hopefully the pasta will be a bit more flavorful in the end.
Cook the pasta till almost al dente. Once ready, drain and set aside. Or if timing is right, drain and transfer to the pan with oil and aromatics.
About that pan, while cooking the pasta, bring out a pan and drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Use medium heat and add in the garlic and red chili. Sear till aromatic but not burn the garlic.
Pour in some oyster cooking water we saved earlier. I used about 1/3 cup. Swirl the pan to draw some air in. Let the oil and water boil a little till the they start to fuse together. The liquid will thicken a bit too, more so slightly creamy looking, that means emulsification has been achieved.
Add in the pasta, and if you timed it right, the pasta will just about ready and you can drain and transfer that right to the pan. Continue to swirl the mixture and cook for about one more minute.
Transfer almost all the shiso to the pan. Mix till evenly blended then adjust with some salt. I used close to 1/2 teaspoon of salt here.
Lastly, add the oysters and give it a few tosses.
Plate and garnish with the remaining shiso.
Some people prefer to remove the red chili seeds before cooking, but it doesn't really bother me as much. I simply shook off some seeds but careless about the seeds that prefer to stay.
By the way, since I've been cooking either the entire pack of pasta at once or just one single serving from time to time, I have to admit that cooking smaller portion is much easier to achieve that perfect emulsified consistency.
That's why I tend to cook smaller amount when it comes to finer ingredients. As for hearty type of pasta recipes, like pasta bake or more Americanized pasta, I'll just use the whole pack. Different methods for different results. Both delicious per my opinion.
Other pasta recipes:
- Paccheri with tuna in red bell pepper sauce (portion for two)
- Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce
- Creamy mussels and seaweed pasta
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