Sauted Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes

This paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes is healthy, easy to make and taste delicious!

This simple paua (also known as abalone) pasta recipe of sauteed abalone/Paua is full of flavor, quick to prepare and perfect served over pasta, rice or simply with fresh bread to mop up the lovely juices from this dish.

This dish pairs well with this Fluffy Focaccia Bread recipe on this site.

Jump to:

• How to prepare Abalone (Paua).
• Ingredients for Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes
• How to make this dish
• How to serve Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes
• Equipment
• What is a Paua/Abalone?
• Paua/Abalone hunting

How to prepare Abalone (Paua).

It is highly recommended to tenderize the paua meat before cooking because it is a very tough muscle. Don't let it put you off though. It is very easy to do and well worth it.

How to tenderize abalone/Paua?

There are several different ways to tenderize abalone. Here are my top 3 ways:

1. Simply relax the shellfish in the fridge in it's shell for at least one night. Then just scoop the paua meat out of it's shell with a large spoon the next day, remove the guts and you are ready to prepare your paua seafood recipes.
   Just by relaxing the shellfish overnight is enough to tenderize it.
2. Put the Paua un chucked in a pot of water and boil them for 1 minute then cool. Once cooled, just scoop the meat out of the shell and prepare your meal. This method is enough to tenderize it and gives it a similar texture as if it was left in the fridge overnight.
3. Or you can scoop the raw meat out from it's shell with a large spoon, then bash the paua meat with a kitchen mallet to tenderize it.

All the above ways works well. I think option 3 is the most common way but I really prefer the texture of paua when it hasn’t been bashed as it can lose all its texture and go too soft when doing so.

Ingredients for Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes

How to make this dish

• Sauté the already prepared paua meat quickly in a hot frying pan. Season.
• Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Set aside.
• De glaze the pan with wine and cook down until until reduced by half
• add the tomatoes and cook until soft.
• Add the butter and parsley cook until all combined.
• Add the cooked Paua to the sauce.
• Serve with spaghetti or rice and vegetables from the garden.
• Drizzle generously with olive oil on top before serving.

How to serve Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes

Paua or abalone, pairs perfectly with garlic, white wine and cherry tomatoes.

Slices of Paua is quickly sauteed on high heat. Wine, garlic and slightly cooked cherry tomatoes together with olive oil makes a delicious paua sauce.

Paua pasta is a great dish to enjoy with this delicate seafood.

Serve the Sauted Paua in garlic white wine and cherry tomatoes with spaghetti or rice and fresh vegetables from the garden.

Equipment

A good quality cast iron frying pan or wok is essential for this dish

Kitchen mallet - optional

Cutting board

knife

What is a Paua/Abalone?

Abalone (Paua) is a unique and highly valued shellfish.

A large sea snail known as Paua in New Zealand and Ormer shells in England.

They have a striking blue, green, and purple shell often used for jewellery.

Paua meat is a true delicacy with a unique taste and texture unlike any other seafood. The meat is rich with a perfect balance of sweet and salty. The texture is firm and often described as similar to calamari.

Paua/Abalone hunting

In New Zealand Paua can only be taken while free diving or collected from the rocky sea shore, no scuba is allowed. There is also a daily catch limit and size limit for your harvest.

Do research beforehand and learn the rules and catch limit for your area. Be sure to only harvest legal species and limits.

Here you can find New Zealand fishing rules including catch limits of different spices.

It's a delicious treat eating and cooking fresh abalone also known as paua. Especially when you catch it yourself.

Harvest your own shellfish is fun, healthy and an excellent food source.

Tasty, sustainable, organic, easy to cook and very good for you!

Read my seafood harvest guide here where I explain how to find, harvest, cook and serve wild paua shellfish as well as mussels and clams from the beach and rocky sea shores.

Other recipes using wild self harvested seafood that you might like:

Clam fritters with ranch dressing

Wild mussels in curry, coconut sauce

Salad Prawn, mango and avocado