The Primal Blueprint Cookbook (22 page)

In a bowl, lightly beat the egg and add salt and pepper. Carefully dip each oyster in the eggs then lightly dredge through coconut flour. Heat oil until it begins to pop, then fry each oyster 1–2 minutes on each side until the outside is crisp and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Dipping Sauce:
Mix all ingredients together. Serve chilled.

No matter what time of year it is, ceviche is the type of meal that brings on the feeling of summer. Refreshing and light, it is a “cooked” seafood dish that doesn’t require turning on a stove or grill. How? The citric acid from the lemons and limes in the marinade changes the texture of protein and makes it firm, essentially cooking it.

Some versions of ceviche add tomato or other vegetables, and some play around with citrus marinades. The type of seafood you use is entirely up to you, but make sure to use ocean fish, not lake fish, which tend to turn mushy when marinated in citrus. The most sustainable and flavorful seafood choices for ceviche are Ahi tuna from the U.S. Atlantic, salmon (Coho, Sockeye or King), Yellowtail snapper, Pacific halibut, bay scallops, spot prawns or cocktail shrimp.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the fish into ½ inch squares, removing all skin and bones. Lightly salt the fish.

Bring a few cups of lightly salted water to boil. Add peeled and cleaned shrimp for 1 minute. Put shrimp in a bowl of ice and water to chill. Cut the cooled shrimp into ½ inch pieces (it will still be fairly raw inside). Combine fish and shrimp with lime and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.

When you cut into a piece of the fish or shrimp, it should be “cooked” through, meaning the shrimp will be light pink and the fish will be white, not grayish or translucent. However, if you prefer more of a raw texture (as some sushi lovers do) you might want to marinate the seafood for less than two hours.

When the seafood has finished marinating, drain and discard the lime and lemon juice. Combine the seafood with the rest of the ingredients. Add salt to taste.

This dish can either be an appetizer or main course. Either way, it’s a classic seafood dish that is easy to master. The flavor can be changed slightly by playing around with the ingredients; try fresh ginger instead of shallot, chives instead of parsley, or add tomato purée to the broth.

Increasingly, mussels sold in stores are farm raised instead of wild. Although thought to be less flavorful than wild mussels, farm-raised mussels are usually grown using environmentally friendly methods that don’t expose the mussels to chemicals, antibiotics or artificial feed.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Melt butter in a deep pot. Sauté fennel for several minutes until it begins to soften. Add shallot and garlic and sauté a few minutes more. Add liquid (wine or broth) and bring to a boil. Add mussels and put a lid on the pot, turning heat down slightly and cooking until mussels open, 3–5 minutes. Salt broth to taste.