Lifestyle

Recipe: Barbecued Pipis

Jan 10 12:00am

RECIPES PETE EVANS
STYLING KRISTIN BUESING
PHOTOGRAPHS MICHAEL OMM

Forget the sausage sizzle: grill up a gourmet feast at the beach with this recipe.

1kg pipis
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped red chilli
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons white wine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon grated bottarga
crusty bread to serve

Take a large piece of foil (about 80 x 20cm) and fold in half to create a double-layered rectangle. Line a large bowl with the foil, and place pipis, butter, olive oil, garlic, chilli, parsley, wine, lemon zest and juice inside the foil. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper to taste, then fold up and over to seal foil at the top. Place foil package on a hot barbecue (or in an oven preheated to 180°C) and cook for about 5 minutes until pipis open and are cooked; discard any shells that do not open. Sprinkle with grated bottarga and serve immediately with crusty bread to mop up the juices. Serves 4–6.

Pipi power

The pipis you buy at your fishmonger will probably be fine to use without cleaning first, but if you do want to make sure that there are no traces of sand and grit, sit the pipis in a bowl of salted water in the fridge overnight. Add a little extra flavour to barbecued shellfish with bottarga, which is the dried pressed roe of mullet or tuna fish and can be bought from fishmongers and specialty food stores. Or, for an easy alternative, chop up an anchovy and sprinkle it over shellfish as they cook.