Breaded Abalone with Garlic Aioli...

I am quite excited to get this recipe up as it stems from a great day at the beach and was so much fun to make with everyone pilled into the kitchen watching and learning.

Before I start with the recipe I will just explain what abalone is. - or perlemoen, as we call it in South Africa.  Abalone is a type of shellfish that I think tastes and has a similer texture to squid/calamari. If prepared and cooked properly that is. Not everyone is a fan but in East Asia, especially China it is and goes for a very high price!

Right lets get started...

Before you even think about cooking and eating abalone you need to clean and tenderize it.

First give it a good rinse and then carefully remove it from the shell. How you would an Oyster. DON'T cut yourself!!!

Now comes the fun part, get yourself a thin pillow case, one you not planning to ever use again and begin to beat the 'beep' out of it! Not so much that you split or damage it. You just want to break it down a little so its not so tough! I am sure you could use a tenderizing hammer but this is how we were taught! Its the South African way!

Once you have done that trim off the green skirt and any nasty hard bits. Then slice into strips ready to crumb coat.

For the crumb coat

Just wiz up some old bread until it becomes crumbs and season. Then dip the abalone first in seasoned flour, then egg and finally the crumb coating.  Shake off the access and shallow fry it in hot oil for a few minutes.

For the garlic aioli

Combined a good dollop of mayo and Greek yogurt with a clove of garlic and some fresh parsley.

To serve sprinkle with salt, chopped parsley and chili and finish off with a good squeeze of lemon.

This isn't a 'just pop to the shop and pick up some abalone' kind of dish but if you do ever get your hands on some you now know what to do! :)