Name: Oysters with Champagne-Vinegar Mignonette
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Makes 2 first-course servings
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar; 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot; Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper; Pinch of sugar; 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1 1/2 cups kosher or other coarse salt; 1/2 dozen small oysters, such as Kumamoto or Prince Edward Island, shells scrubbed well and oysters left on the half shell, their liquor reserved and oysters picked over for shell fragments; 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces; 1 small cluster Champagne table grapes or 2 finely diced seedless red grapes

Image may contain Animal Sea Life Invertebrate Oyster Food and Seashell

Oysters with Champagne-Vinegar MignonetteMartyn Thompson

In this elegant introduction to dinner, oysters are paired with Champagne grapes, whose sweet juice balances the sharpness of the vinegar in the mignonnette.

Cooks' note:

Mignonnette, without parsley, can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.