Even in the South Sea Paradise of Waiheke Island this winter has been a time of hunkering down in front of a wood fire with something hot in the belly, and a good book.

The ranks of brave souls who offer a miscellany of old books, organic vegetables, and second hand oddities for sale every Saturday at Ostend market gradually thin out in the dark days of winter, leaving the market to a hardy few hunched in ponchos drinking something hot.

That something hot was a mystery to me until I discovered the Te Matuku Bay Oyster man in the Te Matuku Bay oyster van also sold sustaining oyster soup to the cold and wet, as well as oysters, both shelled and unshelled. Not only that but they also sold me an oyster knife and showed me how to use it.

For those who are less adept the secret is to freeze the oysters for an hour or two before attempting extraction. The muscle holding the shell tight relaxes enough to make shelling an easy task, however I recommend that you still wear gardening gloves to prevent accidents.

Waiheke oysters are wonderfully plump and tasty at this time of the year, but a chilly proposition raw, and being deeply adverse to the mess of deep-frying I generally cook them into chowder.

Do not overcook them or they will turn into little rubber bullets; the secret is to coddle them, barely heating them through in the soup before serving. I also like to keep them in identifiable chunks, after all what is the point of serving luxury seafood if nobody knows what they are eating? 

Two dozen oysters will provide a bucket of soup – enough for four people. You can spin the oysters out by adding more spuds – nobody will be any the wiser.

2 dozen oysters in the shell

2 tablespoons butter

1 small leek

4 to 5 floury or all purpose potatoes

Chicken or fish stock

Salt and pepper

Cream

Large handful of French parsley

Peel and thinly slice your potatoes. Melt the butter in a large pot and cook the potatoes slices gently for a minute or two then add the finely chopped leek. Stir to coat everything with butter then cook for another couple of minutes. Add enough stock and water to cover potatoes. Cover the pot and simmer gently until the potatoes are very tender and beginning to break up.

Meantime shell your oysters, reserving as much of the juice as possible. Mash the potatoes roughly. I like to also have identifiable potato and leek pieces in the soup. If you like it smoother give it a blast with a hand held liquidizer.

Add the oyster juice to the soup and bring back to a simmer. Cut the oysters into halves and add to the soup and stir. Finely chop the Italian parsley and add. Stir gently and carefully simmer until the oysters are heated through. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into heated bowls and top off with a spoonful of cream. Serve with toast.

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