Seafood Feast From Down Under

January 26 is Aussie Day worldwide, celebrating Australia's history, culture and cuisine.

Aussie celebrity chef Pete Evans stopped by The Early Show Monday with a mouth-watering array of seafood delights.

Evans, who wrote "My Table," a cookbook full of great Aussie flavors, has restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney.

Seafood is a staple of the Australian diet. Some 600 marine and freshwater seafood species are caught and sold in Australia under about 300 marketing names for local and overseas consumption. Australia is one of the largest producers of abalone and rock lobster, and Australian south sea pearls are considered the most valuable in the world.

RECIPES

Prawns on an Avocado Stack

Ingredients

16 prawns (de-veined & shelled, tails intact)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 garlic clove minced
1 bird eye chilli finely chopped
2 avocadoes cubed
1 roasted red bell pepper diced
1 oven dried tomato diced
2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons Spanish onion diced
Salt & pepper
4 tablespoons basil oil - see recipe
4 tablespoons chilli oil - see recipe
Cilantro springs to garnish

Method

1. Mix the avocado, red bell pepper, tomato, chilli, lemon juice, cilantro, sea salt & cracked pepper, olive oil and onion in a bowl and place into a biscuit cutter on the centre of a plate.
2. Spoon the basil and chilli oils around the avocado salsa.
3. Season the prawns with sea salt & pepper and pan fry the prawns in a touch of olive oil until golden on one side, turn over and cook until almost done, and add the chopped garlic (they should be a little opaque still in the middle)
4. Place the cooked prawns in a touch of lemon juice & olive oil and interlock them.
5. Place the prawns onto the avocado and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Serves 4

Basil Oil:

4 handfuls of basil leaves
1 cup olive oil
1 tbs lemon juice

Blanch the basil in boiling water and then refresh in iced water. Drain well and wring out in a clean towel to remove all the moisture. Put in a blender with the oil and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Season to taste. Keep in a clean screw-top jar. Makes about 2 cups.

Chilli Oil:

2 bird's eye chillies, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 1/3 cups olive oil

Put the chilli, red bell pepper and oil in a blender and mix together. Pass chopped through a fine strainer and season with salt and pepper. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.

Blue swimmer crab linguine

Ingredients

8 cloves of garlic (sliced)
6 shallots (sliced)
4 tablespoon butter
2 bird's eye chillies (finely chopped)
6 Tablespoons chopped cilantro leaf
2 Tablespoon chopped cilantro root & stem
Cracked black pepper
3-1/2 oz fish sauce
24 cherry tomatoes halved
11-1/4 oz blue swimmer crab meat (or mud / spanner / snow etc)
4 cups of vegetable stock (or fish stock or water)
4 sprigs cilantro
1 lb 2 oz linguine
Lime wedges, to serve (optional)

Method

1. In a large pot sauté the garlic, chilli, shallot & coriander root in the butter until golden.
2. Add in the fish sauce and cook for about 30 seconds to release the flavor
3. Add the stock & tomatoes and reduce until you have a sauce that will coat the pasta
4. Cook the linguine in salted water with a touch of oil for 8-10 minutes (or until aldente)
5. Toss the pasta with the sauce and add the cooked crab meat and chopped coriander leaves
6. Serve in a bowl and garnish with coriander sprigs and a squeeze of lime (optional)

Note: Don't add in any salt to the sauce, as the fish sauce is the salt element.

Serves 4

Grapefruit & Campari Granita

Ingredients

3 cups ruby red grapefruit juice
1 cup of sugar syrup (equal quantities of sugar & water heated until sugar dissolves and chilled)
Campari (or any alcohol like vodka & gin) to taste

Method

1. Mix the juice & sugar syrup together, add in the alcohol to taste.
2. Place in a tray into the freezer and let firm up.
3. Get a fork and break up the frozen juice until it resembles granites.
4. Do the process again of firming up and breaking up
5. Serve in a martini glass and pour over more alcohol if desired.

Serves 4