A delicious, easy and luxurious dish, traditional on Christmas Eve. Done in under 30 minutes with less than 10 ingredients, this is the perfect soup for a chilly day.
Salt And Pepper To TasteWhite or black pepper as desired
1PintShucked Oysters, Liquor Reserved Cut In Pieces If Very Large
Parsley And/Or Paprika For Garnish
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, heat butter on medium-low and gently saute leeks and celery until translucent but not brown.
Add thyme and saute 1 more minute, then add sherry or wine and reduce by half.
Reduce heat to low and add in flour, stir until incorporated and cook for 2-4 minutes, until bubbling but not browned and then remove from heat.
Whisk in milk and cream until smooth. Place pot back on medium low heat, stirring frequently to prevent lumps or burning and cooking until thickened. If you have reserved oyster liquor, strain it into the pot at this point. Do not let milk mixture boil, turn temperature down if needed to keep stew just under a simmer.
Remove thyme sprig and puree mixture with an immersion blender or very carefully pour into a regular high speed blender and puree. Season to taste with salt (I used ¾ tsp), pepper and hot sauce.
Add in oysters, stir gently and watch closely. As soon as the edges curl, remove from the heat, serve in bowls garnished with chopped parsley and dust with paprika if desired.
Serve with crusty bread, oyster crackers or saltines.
Notes
It is imperative that you do not let the soup boil. Keep the temperature low and remove from heat as soon as the oysters curl at the edges.
If you use oyster liquor, add it before seasoning with salt. I find oyster liquor quite salty and need to reduce the added salt in a dish when using it.
Strain oyster liquor to prevent any bits of oyster shells from getting into the soup.
This recipe will double easily to feed more people.