Whitebait Recipes
Whitebait Fritters w/ Lemon Mayo
Many New Zealanders ate whitebait fritters on the regular as kids, and the thought of a warm fritter melting the butter on a piece of white bread before it’s devoured is a real nostalgic food memory. Here’s my take on the classic fritter, which allows this delicate seafood to shine. This recipe makes about six large fritters.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 Tbsp Whole Egg Mayonnaise
- 1 Lemon, zest & juice of
- 250g Whitebait
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp White Flour
- Flaky Sea Salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- Butter
- Soft White Bread, to serve
METHOD
- In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and lemon zest together.
- Add the juice of half the lemon, mix & taste. Add more lemon to taste – I like mine zingy. Set aside.
- Drain the whitebait of excess liquid by placing them in a small sieve.
- In a bowl, place 1 egg, and the yolk of the second egg (save the white from this egg for later). Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
- Add the whitebait to the egg and flour mix, season well with salt and pepper, and stir gently to combine.
- Whisk the second egg white until nearly stiff and add to the whitebait mix. Gently fold the two mixtures together but be careful not to over mix. The egg white adds lightness to the mix and we want to keep it there for a fluffy fritter.
- Heat a non-stick frypan to a medium heat and add a knob of butter.
- When the butter has melted, spoon the whitebait mix into the pan in your preferred fritter sizes. Larger fritters will need around a minute on each side. Cook your fritters in in batches and keep the cooked fritters warm in a low-heat oven while you get through cooking your mix.
- Serve on buttered white bread with lashings of lemon mayo. Enjoy!
Recipe by Jana from The Macpherson Diaries
