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QUEENSLAND STYLE PRAWNS
This is a tropical entrée or main course that showcases Queensland’s best – black tiger and banana prawns, pineapple, ginger and rum Easy to prepare and quick to cook, BBQ Blue says it will bring some sunshine into the bleakest Victorian winter day.
12 to 18 large green prawns
(fresh is best but frozen is okay, farmed is okay, imported is NOT okay)
Bamboo skewers
A 450g can of Golden Circle pineapple pieces in natural juice
Around half a 350g jar of Buderim Ginger original marmalade
A cup of Bundaberg rum
Some finely chopped coriander (optional)
A couple of finely sliced small chillies with seeds removed (optional)
Cooked rice, avocado or mango for serving (optional)
Cut the heads off the prawns and remove the legs leaving the body intact. Slice along the back of the shells and take out the vein. Slightly loosen the shell on either side so there is room for the marinade to penetrate.
Drain the juice from the pineapple pieces and add half the rum. Place this in a stainless or ceramic bowl and soak the prawns in the liquid for an hour (if left longer the pineapple juice might start to ‘cook’ the prawns). Soak the skewers in water for the same length of time.
Use a blender to create a pineapple puree from the pieces. Put the pineapple in a saucepan with the other half of the rum and the ginger marmalade. Set it to simmer and stir occasionally until the jam is dissolved (if you bought a monster barby with a side burner this may be your big chance to actually use it). Once the sauce is thick and smooth, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Remove the prawns from the marinade and discard the liquid. Insert skewers just above the prawn tails and push through until there is about 2.5 cm of bamboo projecting. Cook the prawns on either the solid or grill plates of a pre-heated barby until the shells are pink and the flesh is opaque.
Place two or three prawns per person over rice, a halved avocado or on a mound of diced mango. Spoon over the pineapple/rum/ginger sauce and garnish if required with the coriander and chilli. Put out plenty of finger bowls and napkins for those who don’t eat the shells.
FOILED FISH
Cooking fish in sealed foil packages has to be one of the most fooproof barbecue seafood recipes. It’s also great for feeding a crowd as the packages can be pre-prepared and taken straight from the refrigerator to the barbeque. All you will need is:
A roll of strong 30 cm wide aluminium foil
One medium or several small fish fillets per person
(bream, snapper, sweetlip or whiting are ideal)
Olive oil or butter
Sliced capsicum, Spanish onions, zucchini, capsicum, mushrooms
A bunch of fresh thyme sprigs
Black pepper
Dry vermouth
Place a 90 cm by 30 cm sheet of foil (shiny side up) and fold from the left to create a 45cm by 30 cm rectangle. Rub some oil or butter over the middle of the right hand side of the sheet and stack the vegetables (capsicum and onion first) then place fish (one medium fillet or two smaller ones) on top, splash a little vermouth over the fillets and finally add the thyme sprigs and pepper.
Fold over the left hand side and then fold over the edges on the three open sides until they are well sealed. Place in the fridge until the barby is pre-heated. The packages can be cooked either by direct or indirect heat. But direct is preferred as it results in some caramelising of the vegetables at the base of the parcels
Within a minute or so of being placed on a hot barby plate, the packages pump up indicating that the fish and vegetables are being cooked by steam produced from the flavouring liquid.
Once the packages fill with steam, allow a further 8 minutes for thicker fillets such as sweetlip or snapper. Whiting fillets should only take about 5 minutes. Let the packages stand for another minute or two before serving. Just remember to tell people to slit the package with a knife as sometimes the escaping steam can burn fingers.
The choice of vegetables and flavourings to go with the fish is wide open. While the ingredients above follow a vaguely Mediterranean theme, an easy Oriental version could include baby sweet corn spears, sliced bamboo shoots, snake beans or snow peas and carrot strips. Add a little sake, rice wine or dry sherry to the vegetables and top the fish with the garlic and ginger mixed with thick soy sauce.
CUTTLEFISH AND TOMATO SALAD, SWEET/SOUR ONIONS AND BASIL
This salad is often featured at the extremely popular Seafood BBQ courses put on by the Sydney Fish Market’s Seafood School. The four-hour weekend lunchtime sessions combine demonstrations and hands-on barbequing. It is guaranteed that everyone will finish the lunch class not only very well fed but also able to barbeque fish, shellfish and squid to perfection.
Cuttlefish are a cephalopod mollusc like octopus and squid. They are found right around the coast of Australia and are available throughout the year. They are ideal for barbequing as cuttlefish require very quick cooking – just a couple of minutes is all that is needed to turn the flesh from translucent to white.
2 small Spanish onions.
150ml red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup capers rinsed and drained
500g cleaned cuttlefish
2 large ripe tomatoes
90ml extra virgin olive oil
½ cup basil leaves
salt and pepper
Mix the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small bowl. Slice the Spanish onions into very fine rings and place in the vinegar mixture to marinate. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a small heavy based pan over a high temperature. Fry the capers, gently shaking the pan until the capers have opened and begun to crisp, remove the capers onto a paper towel and set aside Trim and lightly score the outside of the cuttlefish to tenderise; this will make the cuttlefish curl up as it cooks. Place the cuttlefish in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Preheat the barbeque to moderately high. Arrange the cuttlefish on the hotplate and grill for 1 to 2 minutes until the flesh is opaque. Remove to a chopping board and slice into 1 cm pieces and place in a large bowl.
Core the tomatoes and cut into large chunks, place in a large bowl, tear in ¾ of the basil leaves and add 2/3 of the capers then sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Drain the onions and discard the vinegar, add 2/3 of the onions and gently toss the salad to combine. Arrange on four plates or a large platter and top with the remaining basil, onions and capers. Serve with char-grilled Italian bread. Serves four.
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