There are only a few caviar recipes I’ve found which actually add to the taste of the caviar, and this is one of them.  This mild egg yolk and whipped cream custard with fresh herbs is a perfect complement to high quality caviar such as Black River Caviar.  We tried this custard with both the Siberian Caviar from Black River Caviar, as well as their new Russian Caviar.  California Caviar Company sent us some samples of their Russian Caviar, so we tried that as well.  Though the herbed custard is rich, serving a trio of custards with three different types of caviar would make a striking presentation. Only a small amount of custard should be served with each type of caviar, about 1 1/2 ounces of custard with a teaspoon of caviar.  This recipe for the herbed custard will make 6 – 8 small custard cups or 4 larger custard cups. The recipe can easily be doubled for a larger group.

Serving the custard on a square of toasted brioche bread with a dollop of caviar on top is another serving option which is equally delicious.

Ingredients:

 1/4 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs yolks

1 tablespoon dry vermouth

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon thinly sliced fresh chives

1/2 teaspoon minced flat leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon

50 grams Black River Caviar  (Siberian Caviar or Russian Caviar)

Chives for garnish

I adore eating caviar straight from the tin with nothing added.  No egg, no onions, no blini… just plain caviar. At the same time, I’m always looking for caviar recipes that highlight the caviar, and ideally actually add to and improve the experience of eating caviar.

I have finally found such a recipe. The basis of the recipe came from “Alfred Portale’s 12 Seasons Cookbook”. The slightly poached Bluepoint oysters served in their shell with a leek, shallot and heavy cream sauce, and topped with a generous dollop of Black River Caviar was perhaps the most delicious caviar recipe I have ever had.  The combination of ingredients was absolutely perfect.

The leeks and first stages of the cream sauce can be prepared ahead of time, leaving only the oyster shucking and poaching and final assembly for the last minute.  This caviar recipe would be perfect as a first course for any holiday or special occasion meal.

Ingredients:

2 leeks, white parts only, sliced into 1/6 inch rounds

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon finely minced shallots

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup heavy cream

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Fleur de sel

24 BluePoint oysters, or use Wellfleet, Kumamoto or Malpeque oysters

1 tablespoon finely minced chives

2 ounces Black River Caviar (or use another high quality osetra caviar)

Fresh tarragon or chervil sprigs for garnish

Coarse salt such as ice cream salt, for serving

Instructions:

Cook the leeks for 6 – 8 minutes or until tender, in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Drain and plunge the leeks into ice water. Drain again and set aside.

In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the shallots until softened, about 4 – 6 minutes. Add the wine and cook until nearly evaporated (about 1 tablespoon of liquid remaining). Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Cook until the cream reduces slightly, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the butter one piece at a time, until the sauce is rich and slightly thickened. Season with cayenne and fleur de sel. Cover and set aside to keep warm.

Working over a bowl to catch the oyster juices, hold oyster firmly in the palm of your hand using a towel to protect your palm. Insert an oyster knife into the hinge at the pointed end of the oyster. Work it in, using steady, even pressure. Pop open the shell, then run the blade around until you cut the muscle that attaches the top of the shell to the oyster. Remove the top shell. Slide knife under the oyster, finding where it is attached to the bottom shell, and cut through. Continue this with all 24 oysters. Add the oysters to the escaped oyster liquor in the bowl. Reserve the deep bottom shell and discard the top, flat shell. Wash and dry the reserved shells.

Add the reserved leeks to the cream sauce and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes.  Add the oysters and reserved liquor (which might need to be strained if any shell particles fell into the bowl).  Cook for about 1 minute, until just heated through.  The oysters will swell just slightly.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chives.

Arrange the clean, dry shells on a bed of seaweed or rock salt. Spoon some leeks and sauce onto the shells, and set one oyster on top of the leeks.  Spoon a small amount of sauce over the tops of the oysters.  Garnish each oyster with a dollop of Black River Caviar and a sprig of tarragon or chervil.

Serve immediately.

Recently, when speaking with a client about Black River Caviar, our client said “Black River Caviar is as good as the Beluga Caviar you can’t even get anymore”.  That’s a pretty nice endorsement!  If you’ve been reading this blog, you know we love Black River Caviar, and we are always finding new ways to enjoy and serve it.

Black River Caviar is sturgeon fish caviar farmed in Uruguay.  In 1995 fertilized Siberian sturgeon roe were brought to Uruguay and “wild farmed” using sophisticated farming techniques that almost exactly replicate the environment sturgeon would experience living in the wild.  The guiding philosophical principal of Black River Caviar is the recreation of ‘life in the wild’ for the sturgeon: from day one until the moment of caviar harvesting.  The sturgeon are fed an all-natural, organic feed, which arguably, creates a healthier caviar product than caviar caught in the Caspian Sea, since the Caspian Sea is known to be somewhat polluted.

In this recipe, we’ve added a generous dollop of Black River Caviar to a mound of fresh sea scallop tartar.  The scallop tartar is purposely mild, so as not to overwhelm or compete with the flavor of the caviar.  You can use more or less pink peppercorn than is suggested, keeping in mind that you want to preserve the balance between the caviar and the scallop tartar.

This recipe is perfect for a light appetizer or can be served in a larger portion with salad and toasted bread for a lovely lunch course.

We tried serving about a tablespoon of scallop tartar topped with caviar on an endive leaf, and although the presentation was attractive, we found that the bitterness of the endive leaf was not an ideal pairing with the Black River Caviar.

If you don’t have a good local source for fresh, high quality caviar, you can buy American caviar, such as Black River Caviar or Tsar Nicoulai Caviar on our website.

Ingredients:

8 oz sashimi grade sea scallops

Fresh lemon juice to taste (about 1/2 lemon)

1/8 teaspoon pink peppercorns  (Baies rose berries)

Fleur de sel

2 teaspoons finely chopped chives, plus 3/4 inch pieces for garnish

1 – 2 ounces Black River Caviar or another high quality osetra caviar

Instructions:

slice the scallops into 5 or 6 slices and from there, dice the scallops into a fine dice.  Put the diced scallops in a bowl and add the lemon juice, pink peppercorns, chives, and fleur de sel.  Mix gently and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Use a circular cookie cutter, a measuring cup, or another vessel to form perfect mounds of scallop tartar on the serving plates.  Top the scallop tartar with a generous dollop of caviar, and garnish with chives.

Caviar is one of those few foods which is often best enjoyed without any other ingredients or additions. A good quality sturgeon caviar, osetra (sometimes spelled ossetra), beluga, or sevruga, need not be accompanied by anything. Eaten by the spoonful, caviar can be truly appreciated in all its glory.

There are however, occasions that call for enjoying caviar in conjunction with other foods. For example, it’s difficult (and potentially quite expensive) to serve caviar by the spoon for a large gathering. Logistically, serving a large crowd of people caviar at a cocktail party, wedding reception, or another formal affair is more easily handled when the caviar has a base on which it is served.  Tiny toast points, toasted brioche, or baby potatoes can all serve as an adequate base.  In this recipe, we’ve opted for a more exotic base: rounds of pate made from monk fish liver, known at Japanese restaurants and sushi bars as “ankimo”.

Monk fish liver, or ankimo, has a unique flavor and texture, which is reminiscent of foie gras, but with a slightly fishy flavor. Ankimo pate is smooth and creamy, often swirled with dramatic orange colors.  This interesting and exotic fish pate pairs very nicely with caviar.  Ankimo can also be garnished with any type of tobiko or fish roe, including salmon caviar along with freshly grated ginger.  We chose to top the ankimo with Black River Caviar in this recipe and have deleted the ginger so that the strong ginger flavor does not interfere with the delicate taste of the caviar.

Black River Caviar is among the finest caviar in the world.  The caviar roe comes from Siberian sturgeon, which were originally imported from Russia as fertilized roe in 1995, and subsequently “wild raised” in Uruguay.  Black River Caviar has developed very sophisticated equipment which replicates the natural environment of wild sturgeon almost exactly.  The result is a premium osetra caviar which is enjoyed in numerous top restaurants and is considered by many to be the premier substitute for wild osetra caviar. Black River’s sturgeon caviar is brown to jet black in color, has a medium to large bead, and has a fresh, clean, and nutty taste with a sweet and creamy finish. It’s worth mentioning that Black River Caviar feeds the sturgeon at their farm an all-natural organic feed.

This recipe can be served with or without a ponzu sauce. If the ankimo will be passed at a party, it might be easier to skip the ponzu. The ankimo can also be served on a tiny toast, which will give the appetizer more stability when passing.

Ingredients:

1 lb. monkfish liver, veins removed

Coarse sea salt, about 2 teaspoons

Sake, about 1/2 cup, brand not important

50 grams Black River Caviar (about 1.75 ounces)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 inch-square piece of konbu (seaweed)

Chives for garnish

Instructions:

To make the ankimo, first cover the ankimo with coarse salt and let sit for 40 minutes.  Wash away the salt with sake, then soak in sake for 10 minutes.  Roll the ankimo tightly in plastic wrap, creating a 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 inch tube, securing the ends with string or twist ties.  Roll the ankimo tube in aluminum foil.  Pierce the log with about 10 – 15 holes with a toothpick or small skewer. Steam the ankimo for 30 – 35 minutes.  Cool, then slice into 1/4-inch rounds.

To make the ponzu, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice and square of konbu.  It’s best to let the sauce sit overnight in the refrigerator so that the flavor of the konbu will permeate the sauce, but even a few hours will suffice.

To serve, place the chilled ankimo rounds on a serving plater.  Top each round with caviar.  Garnish with chives.  Pour a small amount of ponzu over and around the ankimo slices.

This classic French soup served chilled is wonderful with a large dollop of Black River Caviar.  Though another type of ossetra caviar can be used, Black River Caviar is our favorite because it is so similar to wild caviar, yet it is farmed using innovative and sustainable farming techniques that almost exactly imitate the natural environment of wild sturgeon.  This magnificent caviar is produced from “wild raised” Siberian sturgeon, originally imported in 1995 from Russia as fertilized roe.  Light brown to jet black in color, Black River Caviar is large grain, has a fresh, clean, nutty taste, and sweet and creamy finish.

Since the caviar will sit on the surface of the soup, you’ll want to make sure the soup is thick enough to hold the caviar. If you use home made chicken stock, the stock will be more gelatinous and therefore the chilled soup will have a thicker consistency.  If store-bought stock is used, simply add more potatoes to adjust the thickness.  Either way, use plenty of potato when you cook the soup.  Before blending the soup, you can set aside some of the diced potato, and add it as needed to get the proper consistency. Or, at the end, when the soup is chilled, you can add milk or cream to thin out the soup.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3/4 cup cleaned and sliced leek (white part only)

12 ounces peeled and diced Yukon Gold or russet potatoes (about 2 cups)

2 cups chicken stock, preferably home-made

2 cups heavy cream

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

2 ounces Black River Caviar

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sliced leek and cook for 3 – 5 minutes until tender but not browned.  Add a small amount of water if the leeks begin to brown at all.  Add the potatoes and cook for a few minutes, but but do not allow them to brown.  Add the chicken stock and simmer about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender.  Add the cream and return to a simmer.  Remove the soup from the stove and let cool for about 30 minutes.  Puree the soup in a food processor until very smooth, then strain through a fine mesh sieve.  Remember that the soup will continue to thicken as it cools.  Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper then refrigerate the soup until well chilled.  If the soup is too thick, whisk in some milk or cream.

Serve the soup in chilled bowls.  Sprinkle the soup with the finely sliced chives and garnish with a large dollop of caviar.