Hustle the Mussel

On my journey home from a delightful Christmas on the Coromandel, through the corner of my eye I spotted two dazzling words on the side of a cute wee caravan. Mussel Fritters. That first word had me sold. Nestled next to a stunning Pohutakawa in full bloom, with the ocean as its back drop, it was the ultimate pit stop. And stop we did.

Paradise

I took the liberty of ordering the infamous Mussel Fritter. It came with a $5 price tag. Which I more than happily paid. The pregnant older sissy pulled through with the fiver. Rather cruel of me when I think about it. The poor girl wouldn’t even get to try it. But this was an opportunity I couldn’t let pass. The culinary genius’s were a Father-Daughter duo. My guess was he was passing on the secret family recipe. I watched her face full of concentration as she carefully buttered the accompanying slice of white bread. Dad gazing at her with an heir of confidence. Give it 20 years and she will be running the show.

After 5 minutes of soaking up the sea air the fritter was complete. Much bigger than I expected, but I was certainly not complaining.

Condiment of choice: a wedge of lemon, crack of pepper and a sprinkle of sea-salt. (Had a bit of a meltdown on the salt front. Dodgy lid. You can guess the rest). Time to eat. 

Note the salt.

Verdict= Fan-bloody-tastic. Perfect combination of seasoning, spices, onion, lemon and chunks of juicy mussel. I drove home a happy girl.

The abundance of fresh seafood during these Summer months, is something we Kiwi’s often take for granted. But mussel’s are always in the supy, and are perfect when you have minimal funds.My recent obsession with the marine bivalve have forced excessive consumption already this year and I don’t see it ending anytime soon. 

The latest creation consisted of teaming this guy up with another abundant summer vegetable. The Zucchini. 

I had purchased a bag of the mussels, with fritters in mind. After a quick Google search for a recipe, I came across Mussel and Zucchini fritters.

A bizarre coincidence as a friend had been telling me of her current fixation with the Zucchini fritter. Mussel + Zucchini. Rather an odd combination one might think. But all skeptic thoughts were removed after the first bite. Gorgeous to both the eye and the palate. 

A simple summer's lunch

Yet again this mollusk left me and my taste buds a very happy girl.