My recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne makes a sublime starter that’s perfect for kicking off a celebratory meal or romantic dinner. Impressive looking, it’s quick and easy if you buy freshly shucked oysters, and can be adapted to any budget: go all out with Beluga and French bubbly or opt for lumpfish caviar and local sparkling wine for a more affordable yet still fancy appetiser.
These oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill, and Champagne are divine: the finely-diced dill pickles bring a delightful sourness and crunch to the deliciously-briny yet creamy plump oysters; the caviar adds more salty ocean flavour and texture, popping in the mouth; the bubbly brings a gentle effervescence and brightness, while the dill gives the dish a grassy freshness.
I prepared these Eastern European-inspired oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill, and Champagne for my Russian-Ukrainian mum for New Year’s Eve, again for Orthodox Christmas a week later, and I’m hoping to make them again for Orthodox Easter.
We adore oysters and Australian oysters have been so affordable, I’ve been concocting all sorts of oyster recipes. Also a lover of plump briny molluscs? Try our oysters with pomegranate mignonette dressing recipe and moules frites recipe. More to come!
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Oysters with Caviar, Dill Pickles, Fresh Dill and Champagne
I’d intended to share this recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne over the Christmas-New Year period, but unfortunately life got in the way. But if oysters are in season and are as affordable where you are as they here, and you adore oysters as much as we do, then you shouldn’t need an excuse to make this sublime starter.
And if they’re not and you do, then you can use Valentines Day this weekend as an excuse to splurge on some sweet, plump briny oysters that taste of the sea. Because there are few ingredients that are, ahem, more romantic than oysters. And adding dollops of caviar and a little Champagne makes them even more luxurious.
When I concocted this oysters with caviar recipe, I was looking to create a oyster starter that was Eastern European in flavour for my mum, an oyster lover with Russian-Ukrainian heritage. Caviar, dill pickles and fresh dill are quintessential ingredients that we use time and time again in my Russian-Ukrainian family recipes.
Only vodka would have made this oysters and caviar dish more Russian, and ice-cold vodka just out of the freezer would have worked. But it’s been a couple of years since I drank a hard spirit and I wanted the lighter touch and gentle effervescence of Champagne — although I went with an Australian sparkling, which was wonderful.
While my mother and I can easily eat a couple of dozen oysters each, we were exercising restraint. Just a few tips to making this recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne, as it’s a cinch to make and comes together quickly.
Tips to Making these Oysters with Caviar, Dill Pickles, Fresh Dill and Champagne
I only have a few tips to making this recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne as they take no time to prep if you can source freshly shucked oysters.
Ingredients
My recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne oysters calls for just a handful of ingredients, so let’s start with the key ingredient, the oysters.
Oysters
Use whatever oysters you can source. Here in Australia, we get oysters year-round and as far as I’m concerned Australian oysters are the finest oysters in the world. My personal favourites are the oysters I grew up eating, the sublime Sydney Rock Oysters, which are native to Australia, and at their best at this time of year.
Australian Pacific Oysters are also outstanding. Some of the best come from the pristine waters of Coffin Bay in South Australia. Some years ago Terence and I savoured Coffin Bay oysters on the esplanade of Coffin Bay overlooking the still clear waters — that’s one of the must-do eating experiences in Australia as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve been able to source both kinds of oysters locally in recent months and while the average price is A$21 a dozen (around US$15/£11/€12 a dozen at today’s exchange rate), if I shop in the evening I can often get them for half that price. At one stage over Christmas-New Year when there was a glut, I bought two dozen for A$12, but such low prices are rare here.
We can get Pacific Oysters in Southeast Asia, and while I’ve enjoyed the oysters in Vietnam and Thailand, and I’ll share a recipe for Vietnamese styled grilled oysters soon, Southeast Asia’s Pacific oysters don’t taste anywhere near as divine as they do in Australia and I’m convinced it’s because the water isn’t as pristine as it is in Australia.
Growing up, my parents bought oysters in their shell from fish markets or we’d collect them ourselves from the lake where they lived and my parents would shuck them. Oddly enough, mum was the expert oyster shucker in the family. These days, I buy freshly-shucked oysters in their shell, as it’s saves time.
Champagne or Sparkling Wine
You only need 1 cup (metric) of Champagne or your favourite sparkling wine, as you’ll be gentling spooning on just 1-2 teaspoons of bubbly onto each oyster, depending on the size of your oysters. Australia uses the metric system and 1 metric cup is 250ml and 1 teaspoon 5ml.
If you’re using 2 teaspoons or 10ml of bubbly and serving two dozen or 24 oysters, then you’ll need 240ml of Champagne or sparkling wine. Why am I telling you this? In case the bottle of bubbly gets opened before you prep the oysters ;)
Ever-so-gently spoon the 1-2 teaspoons onto each oyster so that the bubbly doesn’t spill over the shell onto the rock salt below and things get messy…
Caviar or Fish Roe
Growing up in a Russian-Ukrainian family, an open jar of caviar was on the table for most meals to dollop onto devilled eggs or spoon onto blini and smoked salmon. Unless it was Easter, Christmas, New Year, or a special occasion, my grandmother bought the very affordable lumpfish caviar.
Technically lumpfish caviar is not a real caviar, as true caviar only comes from sturgeon, and lumpfish caviar is the roe of lumpfish, so should be called lumpfish roe. While not as sublime as the more luxurious product, it still has the fishy, salty, umami flavours, and a delicate crunch, popping pleasantly in the mouth.
Here in Australia I’ve been buying 50g jars of black lumpfish caviar that are sustainably farmed in Norway and Denmark. They’re very affordable at around $6-$8. But by all means buy the larger salmon roe, which has a silky mouthfeel and even more of pop. Or splash out on some Beluga caviar, or Ossetra or Sevruga caviar, if you’re so inclined or it’s a special occasion.
Dill Pickles and Fresh Dill
I use a small-ish dill pickle — also known as a gherkin or pickled cucumber — that I finely dice. I use my own homemade dill pickles or store-bought if I don’t have a jar in the fridge. I haven’t specified a precise size in the recipe, as you should find a range of pickle sizes in the jar. I usually eat what doesn’t go on the oysters!
We love our fresh dill and generously garnish the oysters and plates with fresh dill, and as I can’t get enough of the stuff I like to serve even more in a dish on the table.
Lemon Wedges?
We’re using the Champagne (or sparkling wine) as a bright, light dressing that adds a gentle effervescence and lively acidity, so lemon isn’t needed, especially if you’re spooning some quality bubbly on your oysters. But my mother still wanted a squeeze of lemon (insert sad face), so if there’s more than two of you and you want to be polite host, perhaps serve a dish of lemon wedges.
Rock Salt
You won’t be eating it, so it’s not on the recipe ingredients list, but you’ll need some rock salt to spread out on the plates or shallow bowls to create a base to sit the oysters on so that they stay upright. Clean small pebbles or stones will also do the job.
Step-By-Step Process
Our recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne is such a breeze to make, and takes just ten minutes to prepare if you buy freshly shucked oysters, it barely needs a recipe. But here’s a quick overview for those of you who like them, otherwise head directly to the recipe.
If you’ve been able to buy freshly-shucked oysters, clean them a little if needed, discard the top half of the shell, and chill the oysters in the refrigerator while you do your prep: finely dice the dill pickles, pick the fresh dill sprigs off the stems, and measure out the Champagne or bubbly.
Prep your plates by spreading out the rock salt to create a base to sit the oysters on so they stay upright. Rock salt is cheap here, but rather than waste a lot of salt I create a light base of rock salt and form small mounds for each oyster. Clean little pebbles or tiny stones would also do the job.
When you’re ready to serve your oysters with caviar, divide the freshly shucked oysters between plates, nestling the oysters into the rock salt and shaping mounds around the oysters so that they’re level and can’t tip over.
Depending on the size of the oysters, spoon one or two teaspoons of Champagne or sparkling wine onto each oyster, taking care so the bubbly doesn’t spill over the shell onto the rock salt below and things get messy.
Spoon some caviar onto each oyster, followed by some of the finely-diced dill pickles, and garnish the oysters and plates with fresh dill sprigs.
Serve your oysters with caviar immediately with the rest of the jar of caviar and a teaspoon, along with dishes of fresh dill, optional lemon wedges, and the rest of the bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine.
Oysters with Caviar, Dill Pickles, Fresh Dill and Champagne
Ingredients
- 24 oysters - raw, freshly shucked, cleaned
- 1 cup Champagne - sparkling wine
- 1 dill pickle - also known as a gherkin or pickled cucumber, finely diced
- 50 g jar lumpfish caviar - or other caviar or salmon roe
- ½ cup fresh dill - sprigs only
- 1 lemon - cut into wedges for squeezing
Instructions
- Prep your serving plates by spreading out some rock salt to create a base to sit the oysters on so that they stay upright. Clean small pebbles/stones also do the job.
- Divide the freshly shucked oysters between plates, nestling the oysters into the rock salt so that they’re level and can’t tip over.
- Depending on the size of the oysters, spoon one or two teaspoons of Champagne or sparkling wine onto each oyster, taking care so the bubbly doesn’t spill over the shell onto the rock salt below and things get messy.
- Spoon some caviar onto each oyster, followed by the finely diced dill pickles, and garnish with the fresh dill sprigs.
- Serve immediately with the rest of the jar of caviar and a teaspoon, dishes of fresh dill and lemon wedges, and the rest of the bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make this recipe for oysters with caviar, dill pickles, fresh dill and Champagne as we’d love to know how it turns out for you. And please do share your own recipe tweaks.
