Asparagus and sorrel go well together and in a recipe here I describe a soft-boiled egg vinaigrette made green with plenty of sorrel leaves.
1 large free-range egg
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 large handful sorrel leaves, torn
50ml extra virgin olive oil
squeeze of lemon juice
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Boil egg for just 3 minutes. Scoop into flask of blender together with the shallot, parsley and sorrel. Blend briefly and, with motor running, dribble in the oil and lemon juice. Taste for salt and pepper.
Arrange sliced or whole shellfish on plate with just-cooked asparagus. Drizzle some of the green sauce over the shellfish.
To cook rock lobster or bugs: Wrap live lobster in a cloth or rubbish bin liner and place in the freezer for an hour. Bring plenty of salted water (40g to 1 litre) to the boil and slip in the creature, calculating 8 minutes per 500g plus an extra 5 minutes. The timing should start from when the water returns to the boil.
Adjust the heat to a simmer. Rock lobster should cook at just under boiling point.
Whole bugs will take about 8-10 minutes to cook until their shells turn bright red.
To cook prawns
Massage shelled prawns for 2 minutes with a mix of 2 tbsp cornflour and 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda for every 500g of shelled prawns. (This is a Chinese technique called ¿velveting¿ that results in silky prawns.) Rinse very well under cold water, rubbing well. Drain and then plunge into salted water for 2-3 minutes.
The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.
Sign up