Paua buttie

RECIPE BY AL BROWN, WELLINGTON

MAKES 8

Aussies are more likely to know paua as abalone and buttie as sandwich. When Al made these sandwiches for me on the beach over an open fire they were absolutely delicious, even more so because Al had dived for the paua only an hour earlier. On that day he also added some mayonnaise to the bread as well as the butter which I loved — you can do that as an option if you like. Just use a good store-bought mayonnaise.

4 paua (abalone), about 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) in total

butter, for cooking and buttering the bread

1 loaf of white bread

canola or olive oil, for cooking

1 red onion, sliced into long, thin strips

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

1–2 red chillies, very finely chopped (seeds optional)

1 large handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, roughly chopped

juice of 1 lemon

4 handfuls of rocket (arugula)

To prepare the paua, ask your fishmonger to remove the paua from the shell and give it a clean. Then at home take a sharp knife and slice the paua into as thin slivers as possible.

First, butter your bread — you’ll need 16 slices for 8 butties.

It’s best to sauté the paua in two batches. Heat up a frying pan, sauté pan or barbecue hotplate. Once hot, add a little oil and then your onion and garlic and sauté until golden. Remove from the pan into a bowl. Wipe the pan clean and place it back on the heat. Add a touch of olive oil, then half the batch of paua. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the paua for no longer than a couple of minutes, turning after it starts to caramelise. Remove from the pan and cook the second batch. Once cooked, return all the paua and the onion mixture to the pan. Sprinkle the chilli and coriander over the paua, mix through, add a couple of tablespoons of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to finish. Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove the paua from the pan. Now lay out 8 pieces of bread and divide the paua onto each piece. Finally add half a handful of rocket to each buttie and top with the last slices of buttered bread. Consume with abandon.

Nothing beats fresh seafood and it doesn’t get any fresher than the chef cooking it only 50 metres away from where it was just caught.