Aussie Aussie Aussie... Oi Oi Oi!

Well slap a pair of white jeans on me and call me Bill Granger, I made an Australian recipe tonight!

271. Fried Prawn Cakes (One & Two)

The "white jeans" example is particularly apt, as this recipe is taken from Leonie Palmer's Noosa Cookbook. Noosa's this beach resort town in Queensland. You know the type, lovely white beaches, full of super-tanned, super-blonde people in bikinis, sarongs, kaftans and hoop earrings. Ew! It's not really my type of place... but the fabulousness of recipe proves that Noosa does indeed have redeeming features.

The main ingredient is, unsurprisingly, prawns. My dad bought these wonderfully blue prawns, which were so luminescent that they could have come straight off a fashionable chunky necklace.


blue prawns

To these prawns, you add flour, sherry, garlic, spring onions and water to make a stiff (and still gratifyingly blue) batter. Then you have to let it sit in the fridge for an hour before you get to the deep-frying.


batter

Deep frying is such a brilliant way of cooking food. I love eating deep fried food, (as most sane people do), but even more, I love the deep frying process itself. Just scrape off rough spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil, and watch them turn from gooey-blue to white and red, and finally to crispy golden brown. They smell divine too, smelling exactly like a good Chinese restaurant does.


deep frying

I made a double quantity to feed my parents and I, and to have some leftovers for my brother when he eventually comes home from work tonight. And, as per Nigella's suggestion, I served it with mayonnaise, fiercely sharpened with lime juice and fresh chopped coriander.


prawn cakes

I also added some mixed salad leaves, just to create the illusion of healthy virtuousness.


Plate

These are quite compulsive, and the sharp mayo is a great accompaniment for the dense and slightly crisp balls. We all loved them, especially my dad, who insisted that I make these the next time he has guests over. (This is his standard, and very welcome, compliment for good and fancy food).

Bonza prawns cakes, mate.