Shellfish fritters with zucchini and basil

Ready in 20 minutes Makes 12-16, serves 4-6

1.5kg live mussels, or about 2kg tuatua or pipis, or 3kg clams, scrubbed and rinsed ¾ cup self raising flour

¼ tsp baking soda

3 eggs

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 tsp salt and several grinds black pepper

2 medium zucchini, trimmed

1 spring onion, white and green, finely chopped

1 Tbsp pesto or ¼ cup finely chopped basil

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

A little butter or oil, to cook

Lemon wedges and buttered white bread,

to serve (optional)

Place cleaned shellfish in a pot with a splash of water. Cover tightly and cook until they open, removing them to a bowl as they do. Discard any which wont open. When cool enough to handle, remove from shells and dice the flesh (discard the liquids or chill and use later for a seafood soup). Put to one side.

While shellfish are cooking, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, eggs, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter, stirring until the batter is very smooth. It will be very thick. Grate zucchini on to a clean tea towel, then twist over a sink to squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Stir zucchini into the batter along with cooked diced mussels, spring onion, pesto or basil, and lemon rind. Stir until evenly combined. Heat butter over medium heat in a large, heavy-based frying pan until bubbling and just starting to brown. Working in batches, spoon 2-3 Tbsp piles of mixture into the hot pan and shake pan to flatten out slightly.

Cook over a medium heat until golden brown and fully cooked through (2-3 minutes each side). Add a little more butter between batches, as needed.

Serve with lemon wedges and buttered fresh sliced white bread if desired.

NOTE: As a rule of thumb, greenshell mussels have a considerably higher ratio of meat to shell than tuatua and pipis Clams have even less flesh by weight of whole shellfish. Therefore in a recipe that calls for tuatua you will need fewer mussels, or if using clams, slightly more. That said in a fritter batter you can add as few or as many as you fancy!