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DUNCAN CABBAGE WITH OYSTERS, PUFFED PORK AND HYSSOP SAUCE

Make sure your oysters are really fresh – the oyster season begins in September and lasts for as long as there is an R in the month. They should smell of the sea, be firm in texture and surrounded by natural juice, and the heel of the oyster should be a creamy white colour. Hyssop is a strongly aromatic herb, similar to Mediterranean herbs such as lavender and rosemary, and its potent, hot and bitter flavours add a real kick to the salty, briney oysters. The pork adds a crunchy contrast to the chewy oysters, but it needs at least 12 hours in the oven to dry out properly. Put it in overnight and it will be ready by morning.

SERVES 4, AS A STARTER

1kg pork skin

1 tight-headed cabbage, such as Duncan

12 large fresh oysters

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Hyssop sauce

4 tbsp sunflower oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced

15ml chardonnay vinegar

200ml white wine

150ml double cream

250g unsalted butter

20g anise hyssop

a pinch of salt

hyssop flowers, to serve

Put the pork skin in a large heavy-based saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 3 hours, or until soft and tender. Drain and remove any excess fat or meat from the skin. Cut the skin into 1cm squares, transfer to a baking tray and dry in the oven on its lowest temperature for at least 12 hours, or until completely dry.

To make the hyssop sauce, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat and sweat the sliced shallots and fennel with the pinch of salt for 3–5 minutes, or until the shallots have become translucent. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and white wine and reduce for about 3 minutes to a slightly thicker syrup consistency. Add the cream and 30ml water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter gradually, a small piece at a time, to thicken the sauce. Remove from the heat and add the hyssop. Cover and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and leave to one side.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Remove any loose outer leaves from the cabbage to expose the heart, then cut the cabbage heart into quarters through the root. Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, ovenproof non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and colour both cut sides of the cabbage quarters until deeply golden, then finish the cooking in the oven for 10–12 minutes.

Shuck the oysters, keeping the juice and the meat separate. Pass the juice through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Over a high heat, bring the oyster juice to the boil then immediately remove from the heat. Add the oysters and let them poach lightly for 30 seconds–1 minute in their own juices off the heat.

Deep-fry the pork skin in batches in a saucepan of oil heated to 180°C for about 1 minute until puffed and crisp like pork scratchings. Remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon, leave to drain on kitchen paper and season them with salt.

Meanwhile, gently heat the hyssop sauce over a low heat to warm it through.

Fan the cabbage out on each plate, scatter the poached oysters and crispy pork on top, finish with the warm sauce and scatter over the hyssop flowers.