Abalone on the menu

Haliotis

One of the joys of a coastal idyll is the bounty of the sea, bay and tidal reaches. The first sighting of abalone on the rocks off our favourite swimming beach churned up all the possibilities of seafood adventures. Allow me to share some of our journey to date into enjoying haliotis ... the abalone.

This aquatic mollusc has an edible and highly prized foot muscle and is valued around the world as a delicacy. Eaten cooked and raw it has great diversity in cuisine and tradition. In the wild it may be found on rocks dining on red and brown algae and other vegetarian fair.

legal size Abalone

Great care should be taken when fishing for this creature as many licencing and harvesting rules are in place according to the local jurisdictions. In NSW a minimum size is enforced of 11.7cm as well as a bag limit of 2 per person. In some local areas a recreational limit is placed so that only weekends and public holidays may be observed as legal for abalone catches. Abalone may not be taken from the wild using scuba so free diving and snorkelling are the only way to legally take abalone from our waters.

Cultural references:

Our Mauri neighbours well love their pāua and have a rich legacy of recipes including fritters, steaks, sausages and baked in the shell. The legend of Pāua is such that Tangaroa, the sea god, gifted the lonely Pāua with a coat of many colours as well as the hard camouflage for protection so that his beauty was his own and charged him with the duty of adding more colour to his coat every year. True beauty comes from within.

In the Americas abalone was most esteemed among the Navajo. Echoing a distant past, abalone, as one of the Navajo's four sacred stones and plays a significant role in many of their myths. As one of the four sacred stones, abalone is associated with the creation of the sacred mountains that mark the boundaries of the Navajo homeland, a building material of the first Navajo hogan, and was also a part of the first loom, a vital part of the Navajo culture.

The native peoples of California see abalone is a Spirit Woman who is ever present, front and centre, during  every ceremonies. The chiming of abalone pendants suspended from the ornately decorated dresses worn by the women evokes strong feelings at every ceremony. Multistrand necklaces of abalone are worn by both the men and women. Abalone Woman transformed long ago into a form of wealth and the belief is that she is the feminine form of wealth.

In forms of magick abalone has been used for centuries in jewellery, carvings and as a vessel for offerings and cleansing and embodies all the aspects of the water element including love, beauty, gentleness, caring, comfort, peacefulness, delight and solace as well as romance, fine food, and creativity (especially poetry and music). An abalone amulet may protect the wearer from negativity, especially anger, depression, fear, and/or sadness. An abalone talisman can help you move past negative emotions, bring you in touch with your own inner beauty and will  inspire creativity, especially in writing. Ritually abalone should only be teamed with silver to enhance contact with its attributes.

Nutrition:

Nutritionally abalone has a lot to offer as it is very low in Saturated Fat. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Vitamin B12, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid and Selenium.

Abalone is highly regarded for its health benefits and is believed to promote healthy eyes, alleviate colds and arthritis, reduce fluid retention and improve circulation.

Recipes:

Abalone Fried Rice

abalone fried rice

Ingredients:

2 x abalone, prepared and thinly sliced
2 x eggs, beaten
3 x shallots, finely sliced
2 x garlic cloves, minced
1/2 x red capsicum, sliced into fine, long strips
2 x bacon rashers, sliced into fine batons
6 x snow peas, topped, tailed and sliced
6 x pea sprouts (the green non flowering tendril)
1 cup long grain rice cooked to instructions
2 Tbls olive oil, cold pressed
2 Tbls catsup manis
1 Tbls mirin

Method:

Prepare your omelette: in a non stick pan with a small portion of the olive oil gently cook your beaten eggs until slightly golden brown underneath, but barely set on top, fold in half and set aside to set and cool.
Slice the omelette once cooled.

Prepare your rice in advance and allow to cool uncovered to reduce moisture content. Prepare all other ingredients before you start.

Heat your oil in your wok and begin the stir fry with your garlic then add bacon to render a little of the fat. Add the abalone and fry briefly then add the capsicum, shallot and snow peas.
Add your rice and stir fry coating the rice in the oils and fats and flavours.
Add the catsup manis and mirin and the pea sprouts.
Just before you serve stir through the omlette and allow it to reheat.

Garlic Butter Abalone

garlic butter abalone

 

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
4 abalone, trimmed and finely sliced

Method:

In a heavy based pan melt your butter with the olive oil and saute the garlic until translucent and the butter well flavoured. Toss in the abalone slices and sizzle until it curls and is slightly caramelised.
Serve with the garlic butter over rice and a garden salad.

BBQ Abalone

BBQ abalone

Ingredients:

4 abalone, trimmed whole
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 rosemary sprig long enough for basting

Method:

Using a very sharp knife slice the abalone not quite all the way through so that the shell side of the foot muscle is intact. Mix the olive oil and garlic and marinate the abalone for at least 1/2 hour.

BBQ on a hot grill using the rosemary to continually baste the meat as it cooks and takes on the smoky flavours.

Serve immediately with your choice of BBQ sides.

BBQ abalone sliced and served with quinoa

Seaside Harvests

Exploring our environment and finding forage bounty at every turn is a significant joy. I never fail to feel blessed by the coastal and rural offerings that can be found, feasts for the eyes, bursts of activity, tranquil moments, skillful pursuits and sheer delight in our surroundings.

Foraging and finding wild foods is an integral part of how we chose to live as Locavores. So far we have availed ourselves of some pretty amazing ingredients freely available allowing for regulations and lawful procurement of course. Always ensure you have the right advice and the full knowledge of licensing requirements, sanctuaries, bag limits, size limits and protected species before you start out and if in doubt ... don't take it.

Our Foraged and Fished Species to date

Dusky flatead

Flathead

Our first seafood harvest was a dusky flathead that was a complete and utter shock and awe moment for us all. I don't think you can go fishing expecting to catch anything and then when something this amount of awesome comes your way it always excites the fisherman. Fisheries NSW have limits on flathead such that minimum length is 36cm, with only 1 over 70cm allowed in a bag limit of 10. This one was 75cm and we only caught the one. Filleted, battered and deep fried a tasty treat for the family.

Sea Urchin

A favourite occupation and source of exercise and fun is scampering over the twisted and overturned rock strata that forms so much of our local coastline and spying the creatures that call it home. One such foray lead us straight to the crevasses that housed plump and spiny sea urchin. Returning home with all the thoughts of harvesting them lead us on a merry internet chase of what to do with a sea urchin.

Sea urchin

sea urchin roe

You Tube furnished us with many amusing How To's for opening and cleaning these gourmet creatures where the roe is the prized bounty from within a tough shell.
There is no size limit for sea urchin with a bag limit of 10 creatures each fisher.

We have included our sea urchin roe, or uni, in many a culinary adventure such as sushi, creamy pasta sauces and uni butter.

Abalone

 

Abalone

Snorkeling extended our forage range into the pristine waters around us and opened up a world of visual delight. This healthful pursuit with full body resistance workout included allowed us access to abalone as well as glimpses of crayfish and schools of trevally to encourage greater forays into our watery neighbourhood. With Fisheries NSW limits of minimum size 11.7cm with a bag limit of 2 each it still became a substantial meal component to sashimi, fried rice, BBQs or simply fried in garlic butter.

Cockles

Our beautiful shallow draft bay is full of oft neglected seafoods and with reference to our Mediterranean culinary experiences we were delighted to find cockles in vast numbers. These baby clams, or vongole, are plump and very tasty and easily found their way onto our menu.

Cockles

 

Cockle meats

We have never managed to take the whole Fisheries NSW bag limit of 50 clams each and only take as many as the night's menu requires.

Pasta fillings, potted clams, meaty sauces and smoked in salads are all ways we have served these wonderful seafood.

Potato cod

Some of the creatures we have caught or foraged for are not pretty, but awesome food is out there for the looking. Less known species that don't fulfil commercial needs and market quantity are none the less truly tasty and worth considering for our plates. Taking the initiative to make use of less commercial species takes the pressure off the fish stocks of these species and as long as we fish responsibly and within limits set out by our legislated bodies and only take what we need we can be a part of a thriving ecology and economy.