Ciro Molinaro of La Cucina di Ciro in Parktown North is one of the restaurant worlds’ best-known personalities. Fans of his cooking have followed him loyally on his travels ... and new admirers come along pretty often, too. Ciro gave us this wonderfully romantic recipe for fresh oyster pasta served with a champagne sabayon ... just the thing to make for your Valentine. From your local fishmonger get eight large fresh oysters – get the fishmonger to shuck them ( loosen the oyster from its shell). Blanch the oysters in 250ml water and 250ml champagne containing a diced small onion and a couple of shallots, for no longer than a minute ( you don’t want the oysters cooked through). Remove the oysters and set aside Reduce the stock to half and strain. Add 100ml mascarpone to the stock and reduce further until you get a slightly thicker consistency. Add the grated zest of a lime and a handful of chopped fresh mint. Season with salt and pepper. For the pasta, Ciro suggests you use fresh fettucine. Drop the pasta into boiling salt water for about five minutes ... not longer as you want it al dente. Strain, then add the oysters to the warm sauce and toss immediately with the pasta. You can add a little olive oil to the pasta once you have strained it so the pasta doesn’t stick.
