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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! This is just one of the appetizers I served up this holiday season, more to come.

Oysters Roffignac is said to be one of the first baked Oyster dishes out of New Orleans, originally served at Roffignac’s Restaurant which was around, I believe, up until the Civil War.
I can’t find much information about this restaurant, but it is said to have been owned by the family of Louis Philippe Joseph de Roffignac, Mayor of New Orleans from 1820-1828 who first introduced street lighting to New Orleans and is also the namesake for the Roffignac cocktail.

At first glance this recipe sounds strange. Oysters with Red wine? But the flavors meld very well. It is very similar to my favorite baked Oyster dish, Oysters Bienville, but with a touch of Spanish flavors.

Oysters Roffignac Recipe

1 Dozen Oysters, shucked and left on the half shell, drain off the liquor and reserve
1/2 lb. Gulf Shrimp (seasoned with salt & pepper and sauteed with a little unsalted butter, then chopped)
1/2 stick Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
3 Green Onions, thinly sliced
4 Mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/8 Cup Dry Red Wine
Reserved Oyster Liquor
Salt to taste (remember to consider the salt content of your Oysters)
Rock Salt for presentation and baking only.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a small sauce pan then whisk in the flour. Cook stirring often for about 5 minutes to make a blonde roux.

Add the green onions, mushrooms, garlic, paprika and Cayenne, cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Add the lemon juice, reserved Oyster liquor, and red wine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cook until the alcohol burns off from the red wine, and the raw flour flavor from the roux is no longer present. Stir in the chopped Shrimp and season to taste with kosher salt.

Place the rock salt on a baking sheet and arranged the shucked Oysters on the salt. Bake for about 5 minutes or until the Oysters just start to warm through.

Remove and top each Oyster with a generous helping of the sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.

Serves 1.

Related Recipes:

Angels on Horseback
Drago’s style Charbroiled Oysters
Oysters Bienville
Oysters on the half shell
Oyster Omelette
Oyster Dressing

Be sure and also check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which features all of the recipes on this site!

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Something I have been wanting to do on this site is explore the roots of some of the Louisiana dishes that are now so well known. I love to explore the evolution of cooking styles, regional cuisines, and regional dishes, in this case Jambalaya.

It is hard to deny that Jambalaya has roots in the Spanish Paella, which was probably introduced sometime during the four decades in which Spain held possession of Louisiana during the late Eighteenth century.

The key to making this Paella is good quality short grain rice, real Saffron, and good homemade chicken stock. I also used Spanish Chorizo which is a cured pork sausage made with garlic and paprika. I have a really good Spanish Chorizo recipe which I will share here in the very near future.

Here is the recipe:

Spanish Paella Recipe

Chicken Pieces, I used about 2 lbs of drumettes, seasoned liberally with salt & black pepper
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Green Pepper, diced
1/2 Large Spanish Onion, diced
1/2 lb good Spanish Chorizo, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2 Roma Tomatoes, diced
2 Roasted Red Peppers, diced (homemade are best; see below)
1 healthy pinch Saffron threads, the real stuff no substitutes
1 1/2 Cups Valencia Rice or Arborio Rice
1/4 Cup White Wine
2 1/4 Cups Rich Chicken Stock
A few turns of Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Parsley

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

In a Paella pan or large cast-iron skillet as I used, over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until almost smoking, brown the seasoned chicken on all sides until golden brown. Remove to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, bell pepper, and Chorizo. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and saffron, cook for 8 minutes more, stirring often.

Add the rice and stir in. Cook the mixture until the rice is pearly opaque and has absorbed some of the liquid that has collected from the vegetables. Add the white wine and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, season it to taste with salt and black pepper, arrange the chicken pieces around the pan, submerging. Bring to a boil then place in the preheated oven, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. When the rice is still a bit crunchy, remove the pan from the oven and cover with aluminum foil and let stand for about 10-15 minutes to finish cooking.

Sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

Serves 3-4.

For the Homemade Roasted Red Peppers:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Wipe your Red Peppers with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place in a pan and put into the oven for about 45 minutes, turn once. Remove from the oven to a new dish, cover with plastic wrap for about 15 minutes, this will help the skin pull away from the flesh.

Remove all of the skin and seeds. Cool.

My resource for Spanish Cuisine has always been the books of Penelope Casas, in particular, The Foods and Wines of Spain by Peneolpe Casas.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes, which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

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