Prawn roll
I had my heart set on a bug roll, that is, a Moreton Bay bug (slipper lobster) roll. I got to the seafood shop this morning, and there were no bugs, no lobsters either! There were prawns though, so I bought prawns for a prawn roll.
The motivation for this was again Lorraine Elliott who is better known as Not Quite Nigella. This week, Lorraine wrote about lobster rolls.
Ingredients
- Prawns (cooked and peeled)
- Mayonnaise (I used Kewpie wasabi flavoured mayonnaise)
- Pickled jalapeño peppers (chopped)
- Red chilli (diced)
- Bread roll (I bought a crusty baguette)
- Butter (Lurpak spreadable)
- Iodised salt
- White pepper
- Parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- In a bowl add some mayonnaise, the chopped jalapeño peppers, and chopped chilli. Mix with a fork and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold some chopped parsley into the spicy mayonnaise.
- Roughly cross-section cut the prawns and fold the prawn meat to the mayonnaise.
- Make a midline longitudinal incision along the baguette’s ventral surface and spread the two flaps apart with your thumbs to open the incision.
- Spread a nudge of butter on the incision surfaces of the baguette.
- Spread a little butter on the outside of the baguette.
- Toast the lateral surfaces of the baguette in a sandwich press.
- If you’ve added too much butter to the incision surfaces, some melted butter will bleed from the incision. The question I have for you though is, is there such a thing as too much butter?
- Once the baguette’s outer lateral surfaces are toasted, remove it and gently open the incision and spoon the prawns coated in spicy mayonnaise into the baguette’s buttery incision.
- Serve the prawn roll with a side salad of shredded lettuce, sliced cucumber, and halved cherry tomatoes.
King prawns 
King prawns 
Chopped pickled jalapeño peppers and diced red chilli. 
Wasabi mayonnaise 
Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers and Chilli 
Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, and prawns. 
Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley.. 
Wasabi mayonnaise with Pickled jalapeño peppers, Chilli, prawns and parsley.. 
Baguette 
Incised Baguette 
Buttered Baguette 
Buttered Baguette 
Buttered Baguette 
Toasted buttered baguette 
Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes. 
Prawn roll with wasabi mayonnaise, pickled jalapeño peppers, red chilli, and parsley served with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
Final thoughts
I am a little disappointed I couldn’t get a Moreton Bay bug today; however, the prawns were a reasonable substitute.
The spicy mayonnaise complemented the prawns nicely, and the warm buttery baguette provided great contrasting mouthfeel. As far as rolls go, this prawn roll was pretty good.
What would you prefer? Lobster? Bug? Prawns?
Postscript
After chopping and dicing the pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli, I had to attend the water closet.
Without going into any inappropriate detail, I will be buying disposable gloves to wear on my hands for when I chop and dice pickled jalapeño peppers and chilli. This experience took the shine off, enjoying eating the prawn roll.
