Recipe: David LeFevre’s Shallot Mignonette

A raw bar sampler at Fishing with Dynamite.

David LeFevre wants you to eat your oysters naked, especially you with the purse. At least that is what it says on the menu at Fishing with Dynamite, his new 30-seat seafood outpost in Manhattan Beach. The restaurant evokes a New England seafood shack, but there’s no escaping the California accent. Diners relax in Eames chairs while noshing on pico de gallo topped oysters; plus, if you manage to catch a corner seat you might be able to see sun set over the Pacific – a distinctly west coast experience.

Order a dozen oysters and you can choose shallot mignonette, pico de gallo, cocktail sauce or a ponzu and daikon sauce to go with your freshly shucked bivalves. If you are shucking your own oysters at home, serve them with LeFevre’s Shallot Mignonette. It’s studded with cracked black pepper and barely a whisper of fresh tarragon.

Shallot Mignonette

12.5 oz Shallot, minced

1.5 oz Black pepper, coarse ground

15 oz White wine vinegar ( to cover shallots)

1 Large tarragon sprig

Combine all ingredients and let sit for 1 hr.

Yields: 1 qt