Name: Balmain bugs with garlic herbed butter
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 uncooked balmain bugs (1.6kg) or crayfish; 125 gram butter, softened; 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind; 2 tablespoon lemon juice; 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives; 2 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 2 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh tarragon; 1 clove garlic, crushed; 4 large flat mushrooms (360g); 100 gram curly endive, chopped coarsely

Ingredients

8 uncooked balmain bugs (1.6kg) or crayfish

125 gram butter, softened

2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

2 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh tarragon

1 clove garlic, crushed

4 large flat mushrooms (360g)

100 gram curly endive, chopped coarsely

Method

1.Place bugs upside down on board; cut tail from body, discard body. Using scissors, cut soft shell from underneath tails to expose meat; cut tails in half lengthways. Discard back vein.

2.To make herbed butter, beat butter, rind and juice in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in herbs and garlic.

3.Melt half the herb butter in small saucepan. Brush mushrooms with half the melted butter; cook on heated oiled grill plate until tender.

4.Brush bugs with remaining melted butter mixture; cook on grill plate.

5.Serve endive and mushrooms with bug halves; top with remaining herb butter.

These small sand lobsters can be bought cooked or alive. Their flesh, which is mostly in the tail, resembles lobster in taste and texture. The tail is the only part of the bug that is eaten. Discard the body. Allow one large or two small bugs per serving.
Note

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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