Mussel and zucchini fritters

My husband says when he was growing up his mother would make fritters with leftover cold meat and onion or bubble and squeak (leftover cooked cabbage and potato), with a little curry powder added. This fritter batter is a terrific canvas for all kinds of flavourings and fillings — try frozen or canned corn kernels, crumbled feta cheese and a little chilli; peas with grated cheese and pesto; or grated kumara and curry spices. This mussel and zucchini combo is always a favourite. This is a thick batter, which gives a chunky fritter, perfect for a meal. For thinner fritters, just add a little more liquid.

For the fritters

2 zucchini

24 cooked mussels, quartered 1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1⁄2 tsp chilli flakes, or cayenne pepper 1 drizzle oil, or butter, to cook

4 lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

For the fritter batter 3⁄4 cup flour 3⁄4 tsp baking powder 3 eggs

1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt

Method

Mix flour, baking powder, eggs, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make a very thick, smooth batter. Allow to stand for 15 minutes.

While batter is resting, coarsely grate zucchini on to a clean tea towel, then gather up the edges and squeeze over a sink to remove the liquid. Add to rested batter mixture along with mussels, spring onion and spices and mix in all other ingredients until evenly combined.

Heat oil or butter in a large, heavybased frying pan until melted and foaming. Working in batches, spoon 23 Tbsp scoops of mixture into the hot pan and flatten slightly. Cook over a medium heat until golden brown and fully cooked through (34 minutes each side). Add a little more oil or butter to the pan between batches, if needed.

Serve with lemon wedges, if desired. If cooking these in bulk you can lightly precook them on each side, then transfer to a shallow oven tray. When ready to serve, cook in the oven at 180degC fanbake until they are fully set through in the middle (about 56 minutes).