Ingredients:
6-8 yabbies for starter, 12-14 for main
6 cloves of garlic
pinch of salt
a whole egg
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
Method:
For the aioli
To make about 2 cups of aioli, pound 6 cloves of garlic with a pinch of salt in
a mortar until it becomes a paste. Place this in a mixing bowl and whisk
together with a whole egg and the juice of half a lemon. Whisking constantly,
slowly drizzle in 1 1/2 cups of a mild-tasting extra virgin olive oil until the
mixture emulsifies and thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then
serve it as a dip for freshly cooked yabby tails.
The number of yabbies to allow per person depends on what else is served in the
meal. As a guide, 6 to 8 yabbies for a first course and 12 to 14 for a main
should do the trick. Yabby sandwiches are ideal for a summer treat, with the
aioli replacing butter as the spread.
To cook yabbies properly, I've found the least distressing method (for the yabby)
is to place the live crustaceans in the refrigerator for an hour or so. The cold
slows down their nervous system and they become sluggish.
Then bring a large pot of water - allow a litre of water per yabby - to a
rolling boil and add a cup of salt. If preparing a large number of yabbies, it
may be necessary to cook them in batches. Plunge the yabbies into the water
(death will be almost instantaneous).
Once the water comes back up to the boil, take the yabbies out of the water and
let them cool.
This recipe is from How To Cook Fish - http://www.howtocookfish.info