Shaved paua on a watercress salad
for 4 people
Herald on Sunday
By Grant Allen
It is primo to eat a paua whole - wrap it in clingfilm, bash with a rolling pin to tenderise, dust with flour and finely grated parmesan cheese and then and pop it onto the barbecue. Serve with lemon wedges and crusty bread - divine. However, this rustic Kiwi way of presenting paua is not always realistic. Known as abalone to the rest of the world, this delectable bivalve can be sampled by shaving a semi-thawed specimen into the finest slices.
Ingredients
| 1 packet | Watercress (Main) |
| 1 packet | Snow peas, blanched and sliced |
| 4 servings | Pea shoots |
| 1 | Nashi pear, alternatively use red-skinned apples or pears |
| 1 | Lemon, juiced |
| 1 dash | Avocado oil |
| 1 to fry | Vegetable oil |
| 2 cloves | Garlic, slivered |
| 1 serving | Fresh ginger |
| 1 splash | Soy sauce |
| 2 | Paua, sliced |
| 1 to taste | Salt & freshly ground pepper |
Directions
- Make a salad base with picked-over watercress, blanched and sliced snowpeas and snow pea shoots.
- Add something crisp, such as nashi or fresh red-skinned apples or pears cut into segments and dressed with lemon juice to stop them discolouring. Dress with avocado oil.
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan or wok and drop in shredded fresh ginger and garlic slivers.
- Throw in the paua slices and toss for a minute, on a high heat.
- Splash in light soy sauce and fresh lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Mound the salad base onto an entree plate and spoon over the warm paua mix. Serve immediately.