2 live mud crabs (about
1kg each), dispatched
humanely (see cook’s
notes p126)
100 ml canola oil
60 gm (¼ cup) fresh green
peppercorns (see note)
2 tsp cracked black
peppercorns
Juice of 1 lemon (or to
taste), plus lemon wedges
to serve
Coriander leaves or garlic
flowers, to serve
FRIED-SHALLOT BUTTER
3 golden shallots, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
50 ml canola oil
125 gm butter, at room
temperature
75 gm fried shallots (see note)
3 tsp Maggi Seasoning
(see note)
2 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)1 Lift the abdominal flap
underneath the crabs, remove
and discard them, then pull of
the top shells. Discard gills
and scrape out and reserve
yellow-brown tomalley. Remove
and discard gills. Cut each crab
into four pieces, cracking claws
and legs.Crab with fried-shallot butter
and green peppercorns
SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS CHILLING)“If there’s one food item at Liberté that I would consider
bottling and selling to the masses, it would be fried-shallot
butter,” says Amy Hamilton. “It makes everything taste
better. Don’t waste your time making a small amount,
otherwise its absence will haunt you in your sleep.”2 For fried-shallot butter,
cook shallots, garlic and
oil over low-medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until
golden (12-15 minutes). Cool.
Process butter in a small food
processor, scraping down
sides occasionally, until light
and flufy. Add shallot mixture,
fried shallots, Maggi Seasoning,
and black pepper and lemon
juice to taste, and process
until combined. (If you do make
extra butter, wrap it in plastic
wrap, roll into a cylinder,
and refrigerate in an airtight
container until required; butter
will keep like this for 2 weeks.)
3 Heat half the canola oil in
a large wok over high heat.
Working in batches, add half
each of the crab, fried-shallot
butter, green peppercorns and
cracked black pepper. Reduce
heat to medium-high, partially
cover with a lid, and cook,
tossing occasionally, for
5 minutes. Add half the tomalley
and continue to cook, tossing
occasionally, until crab flesh
turns opaque and is just cooked
(3-5 minutes). Season to taste
with lemon juice and salt,
remove from wok and keep
warm. Repeat with remaining
ingredients. Transfer crab to a
large platter, top with coriander
and serve with lemon wedges.
NoteGreen peppercorns are
available from Thai grocers
and select greengrocers. Fried
shallots are available from
Asian supermarkets and select
supermarkets. Maggi seasoning
is available from supermarkets.
Wine suggestionA floral
gewürztraminer with a hint
of honeyed sweetness, such
as the Brave New Wine
2017 Gerwurlizter. Or, a crisp,
clean coastal chenin such
as Express Winemakers 2017
Mt Barker Chenin Blanc. ➤A
my Hamilton knows where her seafood comes from.
Whether she’s gathering oysters and abalone in the wild
or uncovering a secret fishing spot, the chef at Liberté
has her corner of Western Australia all mapped out.
“Great Southern seafood is second to none,” she says.
“We’re surrounded by such clean, beautiful water that anything
coming out of it is going to taste amazing.”
The seafood of the Great Southern region, unsurprisingly,
stars on the Liberté menu, which is as much a celebration
of local ingredients as it is of Hamilton’s love of Parisian style
and Vietnamese food. But while the region has its share of
big-ticket seafood – Western Australian chefs have long been
champions of Albany rock oysters, and local snow crab made the
Noma Australia menu – Hamilton’s focus is on the species less
celebrated. Whitebait, for instance, fried golden and served with
a tamarind mayonnaise, or sardines char-grilled for a grapefruit
and herb salad dressed with nuoc cham.
Then there’s Hamilton’s mission to popularise the
oft-maligned Australian salmon–aversatile fish that’s equally
suited to anchoring a Vietnamese-inflected crudo or being cured
like ham. “I get a lot of enjoyment from learning how to make
overlooked, often more sustainable, fish good to eat,” she says.
Not everyone has access to seafood straight out of the
Southern Ocean, but the recipes in these pages conjure the
Aussie-Indochine magic of Liberté,Gourmet Traveller’sBarofthe
Year, at home, wherever that may be. Some dishes have been
served at the bar (hello stir-fried cockles), while others, such as
the chilli, garlic and Thai-basil prawns, are the result of Hamilton
needing to feed her family fast. “A lot of these recipes aren’t highly
structured or dependent on exact ratios,” she says. “They’re loose,
fun, and tasty and there’s a lot of room to move.”
Many of these dishes will also be appearing on Hamilton’s own
table for Christmas, and apart from laying into a stock of good
booze, she says that good ingredients and simple recipes (“lose
the prep lists, please”) are vital to a successful festive get-together.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to be real,” she says.
“On a hot summer’s day with a few bubbles under your belt,
the last thing you want is the pressure to pull off a royal feast.
What matters is spending time with the people you love and
who love you back.”Liberté, 160-162 Stirling Tce, Albany,
WA, (08) 9847 4797, libertealbany.com.au