Salute to the Humble Yabbie

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A Swaggy from Toon-bloody-gabby
Was savaged to death by a yabbie
So unique was his fate
That his sorrowing mate
Had him buried in Westminster Abbey

 By L.H Dalziel winner of the Australasian Post’s Yabbie Limerick Competition 1979
Illustration by the seriously delightful Vane Lindesay

I have been rediscovering Peter Olszewski’s wonderful book A Salute to Humble Yabbie published by Angus and Robertson in 1980.The book covers the history, science and folklore surrounding this wonderful wild food. I’m sure that with a new publisher/designer it is ready for a re-print. Amongst his many achievements, Peter was the Australian editor of Playboy Magazine. He wrote and stirred up the establishment under the nom de plume, JJ Mc Roach. He was also Hunter S Thompson’s official chaperone/ road buddy on his Australian tour. Last heard of teaching journalism in Myanmar.

Its been 10 years or more since we have thought about yabbying [you need water in the dams] but since the recent rain the Opera House nets went in today and thankfully the yabbies are still here.

This is from a piece I wrote for The Australian in 1999. Sadly for us Greengrass mentioned below has retired but I wonder if there is an enterprising understudy out there ready to take up the mantle? And while the prediction about Purslane has not fully come to fruition I still think its on its way. Rock samphire is still rarely used but the seaside marsh samphire in the recipe is making its presence felt on many menus.

SUCCULENTS AND YABBIES 1999
Summer is the time to enjoy yabbies . Bill, our resident ‘Greengrass’, has his dams well covered. He is able to provide the restaurant with seemingly endless supplies. I’m talking of wild yabbies, not those bred for uniform size with no flavour. He stores them in holding nets above the muddy bottom of his dams and they arrive clean and feisty. I believe the best way to keep them is in a bucket in the fridge, packed tightly with a wet cloth on top, no water packed tightly so they do not attack each other. Be careful they like to go walkabout. They will stay like this, in good nick for 3 days. I cook them in fairly salty water for about a minute. I find that vinegar, lemon and such, in the cooking liquid tends to mask their sweet flavour. They are so delicate we like to do as little as possible to them, just cook and serve them very quickly.

If grey is the next black in the fashion world, then Purslane could become the new Rocket

It’s a succulent, easy to grow with a fleshy leaf that loves a good drink of dressing. The stalks are refreshingly acidic, a perfect match for the yabbies. It loves to be picked.

Rock Samphire, another easy to grow succulent, brings the dish together . To me the flavour is a combination of seaweed and green peppercorns, slightly salty. The rock samphire is a perennial, one plant is enough for a large mob. The purslane will self-seed every year, weedy, but easy to control.
Seeds should be available from a specialist plant nursery.
 A SALAD OF WILD YABBIES WITH PURSLANE AND ROCK SAMPHIRE
SERVES 6
48 Yabbies
500G Purslane
100G Rock Samphire
150ML Fruity Extra Virgin olive oil
20ML Lemon Juice
Sea salt, pepper
PUT A LARGE POT OF SALTED WATER ON THE BOIL
CLEAN THE PURSLANE AS FOR BASIL KEEP THE STALKS SEPARATE
REMOVE THE SAMPHIRE LEAVES FROM THE STALKS WASH AND DRY. CHOP FINELY
PREPARE A SIMPLE VINAIGRETTE WITH THE OIL LEMON CHOPPED SAMPHIRE AND SEASONINGS
SAUTE THE PURSLANE STALKS IN SOME OLIVE OIL, LEMON JUICE SEASONING
COOL AND SET ASIDE.
WHEN READY TO SERVE DRESS THE SALAD LEAVES AND STALKS
COOK THE YABBIES, FOR ONE MINUTE [ABOUT 8 AT A TIME, SO AS NOT TO LOSE THE BOIL]
BE CAREFUL THEY BITE.
SERVE WHOLE WITH THE SALAD OR PEELED IF YOUR GUESTS HAVE CLOTHES ON.



Tasmanian freshwater crayfish Wynyard 3.6 kg