These sweet & refreshing Oysters with Pomegranate Vinaigrette goes down beautifully in the sun. They’re gorgeous, elegant and look festive!
No Christmas without oysters!
I’m a huge oyster enthusiast! I love them so much, and oysters are the first thing that comes to my mind when I am organising a special gathering. Oysters look elegant, delicious and easy to prepare.
If you have a look at Aussie menus, you’ll notice that we commonly serve our oysters 3 ways. Kilpatrick, mornay and naturel (natural).
As much as I love these classic oysters, I also love exploring the different ways to serve them. If I see oysters on the menu prepared in ways I haven’t tried before, you can bet your last dollar I’ll order them!
This Christmas, my guests will be treated to oysters served with yummy, sweet and refreshing Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
So, how did I get this idea for pomegranate oysters? Funny enough, my anti-seafood husband, sent me a blurry photo of these beautiful oysters served at his Christmas work function. He obviously sent it to make me jealous because I’m obsessed with oysters.
Straight to my local fishmonger it was! So here’s my version of oysters in Pomegranate Vinaigrette. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how well this dressing complements briny oysters. It’s a sweeter way to have oysters, but it’s still lovely and clean on the palate.
These oysters looks truly marvellous on the table! Festive and the beautiful colours of Christmas.
Beautiful red rubies
My mum grew a pomegranate tree when we were growing up. It was rare to see them anywhere and nobody sold them back then.
When my mum opened a ripe one for us to see for the first time, our eyes lit up. It’s probably the most unique and beautiful fruit we’ve seen. Like precious rubies glistening in the sun.
Our first question was, how do we eat pomegranates? or to be accurate ‘this fruit’ because I’m certain we would’ve been able to pronounce pomegranate.
Mum told us to put some arils in our mouths, then burst them and spit the seeds out after in out. For a precious-looking fruit, eating it doesn’t sound too elegant, does it?
I still don’t swallow the seeds if I’m eating the arils as a snack. However, if there are a few of them like on these oysters or salad I would eat them. So there you have it, folks! I’ve done it and I’m still alive, so their seeds are safe to consume!
When I was juicing my pomegranate, it surprised me that the colour of their juice is not a vibrant red colour! I was expecting the same colour as the arils, but it’s actually a dark shade of deep purple-red.
Here’s to more oyster love!
Oyster Mornay
Oysters Kilpatrick
Mignonette Sauce For Oysters
Japanese Oyster Dressing
Ingredients for Pomegranate Vinaigrette for Oysters
Pomegranate – This vinaigrette works best if you use pomegranate arils from a ripe fruit or frozen ones. Pomegranate juice from concentrate or juice that has sugar added to won’t be as refreshing. Besides, oysters are expensive, so you want to use the best ingredients to go with them. I used 250gm of frozen arils which provided the 1/4 cup of juice I needed for the vinaigrette and fresh ones for the garnish.
Oysters – I purchased my oysters already cleaned and shucked from a local fishmonger. My oysters are Pacific oysters, which are larger and meatier than most varieties of oysters we have here. However, any variety or size of oysters would work as long as they’re super fresh.
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How to make Pomegranate Vinaigrette for Oysters
Step-by-step guide with photos
Make the pomegranate juice – Place the pomegranate arils in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds, 3 or 4 times. Use a strainer to separate the juice from the seed. Use the back of a spoon to push the pomegranate against the strainer, so you can extract all the juice.
For the vinaigrette – In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients until well combined. You could also place the ingredients in a clean jar, close the lid and give it a good shake.
Place the oysters on a bed of rock salt to stand them up. Just before serving, spoon the dressing into the oysters and garnish them with pomegranate arils and mirco hebs (if using). Alternatively, let your guests help themselves and place the dressing and arils beside the oysters.
Leftovers – Pour the pomegranate dressing into a sealed container. It should be good for up to a week. This dressing would go great in your favourite salad.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
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Cheers – Cat T
Pomegranate Vinaigrette for Oysters
Ingredients
- 24 medium to large shucked oysters on shell (NOTE 1)
For the vinaigrette dressing
- 2 tbsp grape seed oil (or light/mild olive oil)
- ¼ cup fresh pomegranate juice (NOTE 2)
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 3 tsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground pepper
To garnish
- ¼ cup pomegranate arils
- micro herbs (optional)
Instructions
- Make the pomegranate juice – Place the pomegranate arils in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds, 3 or 4 times. Use a strainer to separate the juice from the seed. Use the back of a spoon to push the pomegranate against the strainer, so you can extract all the juice.
- For the vinaigrette dressing – In a small bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients until well combined. You could also place the ingredients in a clean jar, close the lid and give it a good shake.
- Place the oysters on a bed of rock salt to stand them up. Just before serving, spoon the dressing into the oysters and garnish them with pomegranate arils and mirco hebs (if using). Alternatively, let your guests help themselves and place the dressing and arils beside the oysters.
