AUSTRALIA: Prawns on the Barbie, Zucchini Slice, and Crispy Chow Mein Salad

First confession. I often cook ahead and schedule my blog to post at a later date. Though this is my second-to-last post, it is actually the last meal cooked on my global journey. I will be abroad visiting my child who attends college full-time in Europe when my final recipe posts tomorrow, October 1. (My initial OWW goal of having the children embrace the world may have worked, although there is a whole causation-correlation thing in play.) We invited some Australian friends over — who happen to be amazing chefs — to celebrate the completion of my journey. I would not let them bring any food other than dessert, as for me to complete the journey it needs to be me doing the cooking. They supplied the shrimp recipe, although I tweaked it a bit based on other recipes I found from Australian sites for shrimp/prawns on the barbie. There are hundreds of variations out there. In fact, the only two common factors I found were shrimp and a grill. At first they scoffed at the zucchini slice, having not heard of it, but then they researched and realized that since they left Australia 30-ish years ago, it has become quite the thing. And once people dug in, they declared zucchini slice quite tasty. They brought a stunning pavlova, which is a quintessential Australian dessert. They also brought some Australian goodies.

Second confession. My favorite chef on the internet is Australian. If you have not discovered Nagi and RecipeTin Eats I highly suggest you visit her site. Both the zucchini slice and the salad are almost direct pickups from RecipeTin Eats. Why tinker with perfection?

And with that, 197+ countries are complete. A journey I never set out to take, but am so glad I saw to the end.

Prawns on the Barbie

½ champagne or sherry vinegar

1 large lemon

½ red onion

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon table salt

1 cup olive oil

2 lbs jumbe shrimp

1. Put the the vinegar in a small food processor or blender. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon. Chop the onion into large pieces and add to the food processor or blender, then add in the mustard, peppercorns, sugar, parsley, and salt. Blend or process until mostly smooth. Add in the oil and blend or process again until the marinade is emulsified.

2. Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on, and clean. Add to a non reactive bowl and pour the marinade over top. Toss to coat fully and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to marinate.

3. Turn you grill on medium-high heat. Skewer the shrimp, if desired. Grill on each side for 2-3 minutes, over direct heat, until the shrimp is pink on the outside and cooked through.

Zucchini Slice (adapted from RecipeTin Eats)

8 ounces thick cut bacon

5 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Cup4Cup)

1 teaspoons baking powder

2 medium zucchini

1 yellow onion

1½ cups (tightly packed) shredded or grated sharp cheddar cheese (pre-packed shredded or grated works fine in this recipe)

1. Preheat over to 350° F. Prepare a ~9x11-inch pan, ideally metal, by taking a piece of parchment paper slighlty larger than the pan, crumbling it into a ball and opening it a few times, than laying it in the pan. Do not worry about making it lie flat — the batter will press it down — but you do want it to overhang on at least two sides.

2. Cut the bacon into small pieces. Put a tablespoon or two aside, raw, to top the casserole. Sauté the rest in a 10" nonstick, oven proof skillet until just crisp. When cooked through, remove the pan from the heat, but do not drain.

3. Crack the eggs in to a large bowl and whisk. Add in the flour and baking powder, and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.

4. Using the large holes of a food processor or grater, grate the zucchini. Wring out handfuls of grated zucchini and add to the egg and flour batter. Then grate the onion, saving the juices, and add the onion and its juice to the bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix well.

5. Put aside a tablespoon or two of the cheese to top the casserole. Mix the remainder of the cheese and the cooked, cooled bacon — along with it's drippings — into the batter.

6. Pour the batter in the parchment-prepared 9x11 pan, allowing the parchment paper to hang over the sides like a sling. Sprinkle the raw bacon slices and cooked cheese evenly overtop.

7. Bake 30-35 minutes, until sides pull away from the pan and the middle is cooked through. Wait 10 minutes before using the parchment paper to remove the zucchini slice from the pan. Serve warm or room temperature.

Crispy Chow Mein Salad (adapted from RecipeTin Eats Chang’s Crispy Noodle Salad)

4 ounces slivered almonds

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5 tablespoons olive oil

½ large head of Napa cabbage

5 green onions

4 ounces crispy chow mein noodles, such as La Choy

1. Lightly toast the slivered almonds in a large, dry (no oil) skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce or tamari, sesame oil, and olive oil to a small blender or food processor. Blend or pulse until emulsified. (You can also do this by hand, slowly whisking in the oils after combining all else.)

3. Cut cabbage, by making a slit down the middle lengthwise, then finely slice so it's shredded. Do not use the thick white base; stop cutting when the pieces start getting dense. Add to a large salad or serving bowl. Cut the green onions on a diagonal, discarding the white parts unless you like stronger onion flavors, and add to the bowl. Add in the almonds.

4. Toss the dressing in with all. Add and toss the noodles just before serving, so they stay crisp.

BONUS Celebration Photos!

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FUN FACTS:

• In 1932, the Australian military was actually deployed to deal with a massive flock of 20,000 emus destroying crops in Western Australia; the emus won the tactical retreat, outmaneuvering the soldiers.

• The ubiquitous term "selfie" was first coined by an Australian man in an online forum post in 2002 after he split his lip on the steps of a bar. The style of the word fits the Australian linguistic habit of adding an "-ie" suffix to informal shortenings.

• Australia boasts some of the cleanest air on Earth. Measured at Cape Grim in Tasmania, the local air is so pure that scientists use it as a global benchmark for baseline atmospheric quality.