Name: Charred prawn sandwich with fennel, lemon myrtle and lime
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 slices soft white bread; 600 gm peeled uncooked prawns, cleaned; Olive oil, for drizzling; 2 small fennel bulbs (fronds reserved), thinly sliced on a mandoline, crisped in iced acidulated water; 1 cup (firmly packed) watercress sprigs; Lemon wedges, to serve; Lemon myrtle-buttermilk sauce; 50 gm mayonnaise; 50 ml well-shaken buttermilk; 1 garlic clove, finely grated; Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime; 1 tsp dried ground lemon myrtle (optional; see note)

Charred prawn sandwich with fennel, lemon myrtle and lime

These luxe sandwiches are a treat for lunch or dinner, but can easily morph into a cocktail snack. That's versatile.

Serves 4

Prep

15M

Cook

Total

20M

These make a fine summer lunch or dinner as they are, but switch the bread for mini milk rolls and you’ll have a simple canapé guests will lap up.

Ingredients

8 slices soft white bread

600 gm peeled uncooked prawns, cleaned

Olive oil, for drizzling

2 small fennel bulbs (fronds reserved), thinly sliced on a mandoline, crisped in iced acidulated water

1 cup (firmly packed) watercress sprigs

Lemon wedges, to serve

Lemon myrtle-buttermilk sauce

50 gm mayonnaise

50 ml well-shaken buttermilk

1 garlic clove, finely grated

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime

1 tsp dried ground lemon myrtle (optional; see note)

Method

1.For lemon myrtle-buttermilk sauce, whisk ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

2.Heat a barbecue or char-grill pan to high heat and grill bread until lightly charred and toasted (1 minute each side).

3.Drizzle prawns with oil, season to taste and grill, turning once, until just opaque (2-3 minutes).

4.To serve, spread half the toasted bread slices on one side with sauce to taste, top with prawns, drained fennel, fennel fronds and watercress, season to taste, sandwich with remaining toasted bread and serve with lemon wedges.

Lemon myrtle is available from select delicatessens and online from herbies.com.au and outbackpride.com.au.
Notes

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

Instagram

Styling by Emma Knowles