Food News

Matt Stone and Ben Ing’s grilled Akoya with mushrooms and truffle jus

The celebrated chefs reveal how they are experimenting with a new sustainable produce in this delicious recipe.

By Gourmet Traveller + Leeuwin Coast
A new ingredient has started making an appearance in Australian kitchens. Western Australian born Matt Stone, Partner of Mosey On Inn Group, along with ex-Noma head chef Ben Ing, are some of the first chefs to start experimenting with it.
The Leeuwin Coast Akoya is a unique shellfish from Albany, Western Australia. Traditionally grown for saltwater pearls, the Akoya has been turned into a delicacy in its own right — thanks to bespoke aquaculture techniques in combination with the pristine Western Australian environment. Now, it's adding a new dimension to menus.
"It's really fascinating when you first experience a new ingredient and put it through its paces, to see how to cook with it and get the best results," says Stone, whose interest in Akoya as an ingredient stems from his passion for sustainable produce.
The unique taste is often described as similar to a clam but with the brininess and minerality of an oyster, and the underlying sweetness of a scallop. As such, the versatile Australian shellfish can be served cured, cooked or raw, and complemented by a host of flavours.
Celebrated chefs Matt Stone (left) and Ben Ing at the launch of Leeuwin Coast Akoya in Singapore.

Where it all began

Stone and Ing are no strangers to the bountiful region of the South West and the unique produce it yields, as Stone hails from the Margaret River, while Ing is behind the newly opened Alberta's in Busselton. But Akoya was a fresh new ingredient yet to be explored.
Ing says: "I was first introduced to the Akoya in 2021 and it really took me back to the pristine shellfish I worked with in Northern Europe."
The chefs visited the Albany farm to witness the Akoya growing and explore more about Leeuwin Coast's sustainable farming techniques. As the first aquaculture products to be certified carbon neutral, the Leeuwin Coast Akoya earned the green tick of approval from both.
"The farm team shared with me their story of taking the Akoya from a naturally occurring shellfish in the waters around Albany, applying innovative aquaculture techniques and then being able to produce them at scale to launch to the culinary market. It's quite the adventure," Stone says.
"The Akoya grow on long lines, similar to mussels, in the beautiful waters of the Southern Ocean. Once on ropes and in the water, they grow there for around 18 months before being harvested. They need no feeding at all," he adds.

The world is your Akoya

Back in the kitchen, the duo experimented with several cooking techniques, serving the shellfish raw, blanched, grilled, deep fried and even spread on pizza. The Akoya lends itself to a multitude of cuisines and flavours, and they discovered that the applications are endless.
"It's a fascinating shellfish. It's incredibly versatile and there's no right or wrong way to prepare it. A blank canvas like this is a joy for a chef," Stone says.
Here, Stone and Ing shares their incredible canapé recipe using Leeuwin Coast Akoya, presenting grilled shellfish on skewers with mushrooms and a decadent truffle jus. See below for the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
Skewers:
8 large Akoya, defrosted overnight
2 large clusters of oyster mushrooms (you will need 8 pieces to skewer with Akoya)
200g brown butter, melted
Flake salt to season
Mushroom sauce
250g thick dried seaweed, preferably kelp
125g dried mixed mushrooms
125g rosella flowers, frozen
25g freeze dried blueberry
20g freeze dried cherry
15g freeze dried nectarine
125g light brown sugar
5L water
400ml truffle jus, reduced to 200 ml
White soy
Mirin
White wine vinegar
METHOD
Skewers:
  1. Fill large pot with water for blanching the Akoya in a 1 per cent salt solution and bring to a rolling boil. For example, if you have 2L of water you will need 20g of salt.
  2. Blanch the Akoya, in the shell, for 35 seconds in the prepared pot, and refresh in ice water to completely stop the cooking process. This will allow you to handle and skewer the Akoya better.
  3. Shuck the Akoya with an offset pallet knife taking care not to puncture the flesh and remove the beards from the Akoya. Reserve the shucked meat on ice until ready to skewer.
  4. Using a turning knife, separate the large cap of the oyster mushroom from the end of the root, making sure there is some stem for the skewer. Reserve the bases of the oyster mushrooms for the sauce. When you have 8 pieces of mushroom, we are ready to skewer.
  5. For one skewer, take one Akoya and pierce through flesh lengthwise so that is securely on for cooking. Then take one piece of mushroom and pierce through part of stem following by the cap so that it folds onto skewer. Repeat with another Akoya and mushroom to complete the skewer. Brush with some melted brown butter and season with salt. Repeat this with the other 3 skewers.
  6. When ready to cook make sure your barbecue is hot to achieve a direct heat to the skewer. The point is to chargrill, not to steam. There will be some flare ups with the butter melting so make sure you have some long barbecue tweezers to move and manipulate during cooking. The skewers only need 1 - 2 minutes total cooking time. When finished cooking, spoon over 2tbsp's of finished mushroom sauce and season the Akoya skewers lightly with flake salt.
Mushroom sauce
  1. Combine all ingredients (except for truffle jus, mirin, white wine vinegar and white soy) in a pot and gently bring to a simmer. Cover with a cartouche and continue to barely simmer on the stove for 12-24 hours. The longer you simmer the better the body and mouth feel of the finished sauce. When you are ready to strain the sauce, prepare a fine meshed sieve and strain into another container or sauce pot. When straining, press with the back side of a ladle making sure you are extruding the maximum amount out of the remnants of the sauce.
  2. When ready to serve the skewers, bring the sauce up to the boil and season to your liking with truffle jus, white soy, mirin and white wine vinegar.
Brought to you by Leeuwin Coast.