I think many of us, regardless of whether we’ve been blogging for months or years, will understand the friendships that can grow up through the connections we’ve made via our blogs. People leave lovely comments, ideas, share in the ups and downs of whatever we choose to discuss on our blogs. Some very kind folk go as far as sharing gifts and giveaways, allowing us the opportunity to try something from their country which we otherwise would never have come across.
Recently the lovely Margot over at Gather and Graze hosted a giveaway of some herbs from her home country of Australia, Lemon Myrtle and Wattleseed. Have you heard of them? I certainly hadn’t. Lemon Myrtle is (and I’m quoting from the packet here) “a fragrant Australian native plant which bears leaves with an intense lemon fragrance”. The packet of ground lemon myrtle really does explode with a beautiful refreshing lemony aroma.
The Wattleseed (which is roasted and ground) comes from the seeds of a species of Australian native acacia which have a roasted coffee-like aroma. It works beautifully with chocolate, and I’ll soon be sharing a recipe with you.
If you can’t get hold of Ground Lemon Myrtle (and I’m guessing a lot of you can’t), I’d suggest substituting the same quantity of finely grated lemon zest. I know it won’t be quite the same, but perhaps a good approximation.
The recipe comes from the packet sent to me (thanks again Margot!) and I served it with a salad and a lemon vinaigrette as a starter. I did change the quantities from the original recipe as I scaled the recipe down a little.
Ingredients (to serve 4 as a starter)
- 16 large peeled and deveined langoustines
- ½ cup of rice flour (use plain flour otherwise, but the rice flour does give a wonderful crunch)
- ¾ tablespoon of ground lemon myrtle
- ¾ teaspoon of smoked paprika (I used pimentón)
- A pinch of chilli powder
- Salt
- ½ cup of cooking oil (I used olive oil)
- 2 fresh chillies finely chopped
Mix the flour with the spices and toss the prawns in the mixture. Heat the oil over a high heat and cook the prawns quickly (they probably only need a minute or so on each side) until they have turned pink and crispy.
Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and add the fresh chilli. Enjoy!
To see how Margot used her Lemon Myrtle, hop on over and check out her delicious Australian Apple Crumble recipe!
Chica Andaluza 