Whitebait fritters
Every spring, from September to November, the rivers of New Zealand's West Coast, around Hokitika and Haast, line with people scooping tiny translucent whitebait in nets, and the season's prize is a whitebait fritter. The fish are bound with just enough egg to hold them, fried in butter and eaten between slices of buttered white bread with a squeeze of lemon. Buy fresh or frozen whitebait from a trusted seller. A common mistake is adding flour, which hides the delicate fish; the true West Coast fritter is almost all whitebait. Chef's tip: beat the egg white separately and fold it in for a lighter fritter.




