Preparation
For the mince, roughly chop the abalone meat and place in processor with shallot. Add lemon juice and olive oil. Process until coarse mince. Mix with chives and season with cracked pepper. Adjust lemon and olive oil balance if needed. Refrigerate until ready to plate.
Place room temperature butter in processor( straight out of the fridge is ok, but will take longer to blend), along with roe, lemon juice and garlic. Left over chives can be added too. Process until butter smooth.
Toast slices of bread. If you want a more casual feel, rustic look and larger portions just roughly cut bread into squares. If a more elegant, smaller canapé is desired use a small diameter round cutter. If doing toasts ahead it is best to dry them out in an oven for five minutes or so until crispy. They won’t go soggy that way.
Spread generous amount of abalone butter onto toasts. Top with a teaspoon or so of mince mixture. Garnish with chives or caviar.
Mexican Variation
Substitute lemon for lime and chives for coriander in the mince. Perhaps add a little fresh chilli. Omit the abalone butter, use mashed avocado instead. Use a crispy round corn chip instead of rye toast.
This could be served as an entree, with a mound of the mince served with an avocado mousse and corn chips or tortilla on the side.