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By Root 428 0

grows in such abundance here that it strikes me as funny every time I see someone purchasing it in a store. I prefer to “borrow” my rosemary on a dusk walk around the neighborhood. The neighbors have far too much; so, technically, I’m just helping them thin their crop. (Aim high when choosing your skewers for this dish, as you never know what animals might have taken a liking to the bush.) What I love most about this dish is the interplay of crispy-salty mussels with tart-sweet cabbage and heady, creamy aioli. You can serve the cooked mussels on rosemary skewers made by stripping the bottom of four-inch sections of rosemary and then spearing the mussels, as in the photo (opposite).

SERVES 6 TO 8 AS AN APPETIZER

To prepare the cabbage, heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, fennel, salt, honey, rosemary, and vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

To prepare the aioli, in a small bowl combine the saffron, lemon juice, chile powder, and salt, and let the saffron soak for about 10 minutes. Add to a blender along with the egg yolk. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil. Alternatively, carefully whisk the egg yolk into the saffron mixture and then add the oil (a few drops at a time to start and then in a steady stream) into the mixture by hand. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice. Set aside.

To prepare the mussels, scrub and debeard the mussels.7

In a stockpot over high heat, add 2 tablespoons water and the mussels, cover, and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the mussels open. (Any mussels that do not open can be pried open using an oyster shucker or discarded.) Transfer the mussels to a large bowl, removing and discarding their shells, and set aside. Strain the mussel liquor through a fine mesh sieve and add ½ cup of the liquor to the cabbage. Discard the rest or use it in a soup or sauce the next night.

Dredge the mussels in the flour and shake them in a strainer to remove any excess. In a large sauté pan over high heat, add the vegetable oil. When it is hot, sear the mussels until caramelized on both sides, about 4 minutes total.

To serve, pile the mussels on top of the warm cabbage and serve with a bowl of aioli on the side for dipping.

PAIRING: An albariño, such as Adegas Gran Vinum Esencia Divina Albariño 2008, Rías Baixas, Spain, or a grenache-based Spanish rosé.

oysters

I remember eating my first raw oyster just as surely as others remember their first lake dive, hands pointed together in prayer, toes death-gripped to the splintery edge of the dock. Truth be told, my experience was a culinary half step. I couldn’t quite get myself to tackle the whole oyster, so I licked shyly at the liquor. Surprised at how delicious it was, I then drank it with gusto, letting my friend eat the oyster itself, while she puzzled at my strange workaround. When I finally went whole hog a few months later and tipped the entire oyster back, I realized all that fear and trepidation were for naught.

A little fear before trying something new is to be expected; but surely it is the wise who know that working through that fear as quickly as possible can lead to a lifetime of culinary enjoyment. For those still perched on the dock’s edge: fried oysters are a damn fine baby step.

WHAT MAKES THIS A GOOD CHOICE: Whether they are wild or farmed, oysters act as filter feeders, improving ocean water quality. Like all shellfish, their needs are simple: they eat solely from the phytoplankton floating by (no wild fish meal required). Oysters are healthful: they are high in vitamin B12, iron, and calcium; one oyster contains 370 mg of omega-3 fatty acids.

BY ANY OTHER NAME: There are five species of oysters commonly found on the Pacific Coast:

Pacific oysters (Crassostrea giga) were brought to the Pacific Coast from Japan in the 1920s. Most Pacific oysters (as well as Eastern oysters) are named for the bay or inlet where they are grown