A light and delicious appetizer for a special occasion!

Difficulty: moderate
Cost: high
Preparation time: 30 minutes (plus 30 minutes cooking time)
Serves: 2

Method

Clean the leeks. Cut the root off and cut just where the light green part – which is tougher – and white tender part meet (keeping the light green part to one side). Cut the white part in half and remove the outer layer, and rinse under running water. Chop the leeks very finely with a knife and put it in a bowl. 

In a small saucepan, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add the chopped leek, let it soften very gently for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Once softened, add the sparkling wine and cook for another 5 minutes. Then put the mixture into a blender and pulse, add two egg yolks and one egg white, the grated parmesan, pepper and pulse again to a smooth cream. Set aside.

Now make the crispy breadcrumbs: heat a little olive oil in a frying-pan and add the breadcrumbs. Toast them for a few minutes over high heat stirring every so often to stop them burning, and put to one side when crispy.  

Now, it is time to clean the oysters. Scrub each shell with a scrub brush to remove any dirt or debris under running water. Then insert the tip of an oyster knife blade into the hinge of the oyster shell and loosen the oyster carefully not to break the oyster or hurt yourself. Put the oysters on a tray and prepare the filling. Fill the concave part of the oyster, first removing the liquid, with a tablespoon of the leek cream, sprinkle with the crispy breadcrumbs and season with a little freshly-ground white pepper and a few drops of the leek cream.  Enjoy!