Some years ago, friends and I drove from Manhattan to Provincetown on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. We sampled the local lobster along the way — stopping off at the likes of ‘Clem and Ursies’ Diner for the infamous lobster roll of the region. We continued stuffing ourselves with these treats at ‘Ed’s Lobster Bar’ on Lafayette when we returned to Manhattan. My friends retained the lobster roll as the standard holiday snack for their holiday house on Shelter Island.

While most memorable — these classic lobster rolls were not my first introduction to such an easily procured luxury. Ever since growing up in the Wimmera in Victoria I have recognized the merits of cramming crustaceans between slabs of bread and butter with lots of salt and pepper. Those crustaceans were locally caught yabbies, fresh water crays or a rock lobster hailing from nearby Robe. On summer holidays and weekends we would conduct the ritual of catching, cooking, peeling and eating them with the relaxed enjoyment holidays bring. We would be seated around a newspaper clad table in the garden, the racket of the last galas and cockatoos retreating for the evening, a flame colored sky, the sting of sunburn and the battle with the mosquitos that avoided the zapper, are all memories associated with this event. Trips with friends down the Great Ocean Road were never complete without gorging ourselves with beer and rock lobster tails on the roadside. The flies and the wind and the sun and the blue of the ocean are all part of this memory too.

I was delighted recently, when catching an early meal after work one night at ‘Golden Fields’ restaurant in St Kilda with spouse, to discover New England lobster rolls on the menu. To be honest, I didn’t really ‘discover’ them on the menu — I knew with good authority that Andrew McConnell is now serving these with resounding success. It proved to be just the ticket , washed down with an excellent cocktail, after a stressful day.

The careful construction of this delicious snack reminded me of our rustic assemblies of crustaceans and bread and butter. I may have forgotten this simple pleasure but I was sure the sophistication of McConnell’s variation was something to be emulated. The practicality of keeping on hand lobster or freshly caught yabbies for that matter, for whenever the mood took me, had to be dealt with. My thoughts turned to the practicalities of prawns; not a travesty, but an acceptable compromise.

My local fishmonger sells, for $40, 1 kilogram lots of large, frozen, green, Australian prawn cutlets. Perfect for the freezer — they fit neatly between the gin and the vodka. These are easy to store, easy to cook and there is no peeling involved. Alternatively, you can buy large cooked Australian prawns and bribe or bully someone to help out with the arduous task of peeling them — these however, you have to buy fresh and deny yourself the opportunity to turn to a prawn roll just as the mood takes you, which is just how a prawn roll should be consumed — I think anyway.

We recently served our inaugural prawn rolls with a glass of prosecco from an auto trolley for a five o’clock drinks party for a dozen or so friends on a sultry Sunday afternoon. Having cooked the prawns and done our prep, we assembled the rolls just before our guests arrived. They were the perfect foil to the amount of booze consumed on that occasion and proved to be not just exceedingly popular but simple, smart and delicious.

Subsequently prawn rolls have become a standard household snack. A stash of frozen prawns and a supply of excellent small dinner rolls from the local bakery make this easy to manage. We have eaten them from white china plates set upon glistening white damask on the front verandah whilst drinking a bottle of chilled Semillon — a glorious way to while away a spring afternoon. We have enjoyed them on a cold winters night after work with a beer, by the fire in front of the box. We have lined them up in rows on the bench in the kitchen when friends dropped by. In fact I am even thinking that this versatile creation would be a most dignified solution to lunch on Christmas day - either by design, because the energy to do anything else can barely be mustered even if is Christmas or because the charred remains of gallant attempts with the turkey need to be dispatched to the dust bin.

The genuine article lobster rolls of New England are comprised of lobster meat tossed in mayonnaise with spring onion, celery, lemon juice and salt and pepper – and perhaps a lettuce leaf. The rolls are the sole problem with this delight - those soft, doughy sweet hot-dog buns that you endure in the United States. The rolls would be served warm - lightly toasted, probably ‘buttered’ with some sort of spread and the dressed lobster would have been chilled.

I noted with interest Andrew McConnell’s use of a small sweet Chinese bun to vary the New England tradition. I prefer small soft, French style bread rolls with good texture. I liked McConnell’s omission of the celery and spring onion and the use of shallots. The recipe I give below is likewise inspired. It can easily be multiplied for any number of people.

Prawn Rolls

Serves 6

Equipment

• 12 x 18cm bamboo skewers

Ingredients

• 24 – 30 large prawns
• 12 small round dinner rolls
• 3 shallots
• S&W brand or other whole egg commercial mayonnaise
• Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper
• Water Cress or ribbons of ice berg lettuce

Method

• Defrost the prawns — this can be done by rinsing several times with warm water just before cooking
• Simmer the prawns in well salted water until cooked — they only take a minute or two. Pull one out as soon as they become rosy, cut it in half to check for doneness; cooked prawns are opaque
• Drain the prawns into a colander — rinse in cold running water. Place in a bowl, cover and allow to cool
• Squeeze half a lemon into 350ml mayonnaise and whisk to combine — check for taste and add more lemon as necessary
• Pull any chunky stalks off the watercress off any chunky stalks and gently rinse and pat dry the leaves. If using iceberg lettuce — rinse it well, drain and slice into ribbons
• Peel and slice the shallots finelyPeel and slice the shallots finely
• Devein the prawns and pull off their tails. Cut the prawns in half length ways
• Toss the prawn halves into the mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper — chill in the refrigerator
• Cut the rolls in half and lightly toast them when ready to serve
• Place a thin smear of mayonnaise on each half, add some sliced shallots on one side, arrange about 4 pieces of dressed prawns on each dinner roll — be generous, top with watercress or iceberg lettuce, close the roll and secure with a skewer
• Arrange the rolls in lines on a tray — enjoy with beer, prosecco, champagne or white wine, or a cocktail of your choosing

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Elizabeth Peddey (aka Sunday Relish) has been the Tribune’s food expert since 2009. She also consults in Meal and Pantry Planning, Food Shopping and Entertaining and offers Cooking Classes. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Ph: 0419 505 438.

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