Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp dry white wine, like vermouth
8 ounces shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
3 pints shucked oysters, with liquor
20 light green , flat leaf spinach leaves, cleaned, dried and cut into chiffonade
Preparation
No more than 4 hours before serving, add the cream to a 3 quart sauce pan. Bring to a slight simmer, over medium heat. Cook until the cream has reduced by half ( 30 - 45 minutes). DO NOT let the cream come to a full boil, and use a ladle in the cream as a safety device to stir if it begins to foam. Strain cream into a warm Thermos or double bolier and hold until ready to serve. Blanch leeks in boiling water for 30 seconds, strain and put in an ice bath. After a minute or two, drain and refrigerate until needed. heat the butter and wine in a large non-stick saute pan. When a full boil has been reached, add mushroom slices and saute for 2 minutes. If doing this ahead, remove the mushrooms and any liquid. Reserve. When it’s showtime, re-warm mushrooms in large saute pan. Add leeks and oysters. Cook over moderate heat until oysters are just beginning to curl, usually 4 - 6 minutes. Stir in reduced cream, just barely re-warm it, no more than 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed with salt pepper and thyme. Serve in warm shallow soup bowls. Equally divide the chiffonade of spinach over the servings. Serve immediately.
