Feeling particularly patriotic with all the Rugby World Cup fever around the place, I got to thinking about what makes us New Zealanders. The thing about New Zealand is that you are never more than a few hours drive from water. Being an island nation, we are surrounded by coastline, dotted with lakes large and small, and crisscrossed by rivers. I can’t help feeling that you can’t get much more Kiwi than watching the All Blacks play (and win of course) while tucking into a plate of seafood!
To create my seafood trio I selected some fresh Nelson scallops, West Coast whitebait and made some tasty Paua patties with a surprise ingredient – a few finely chopped dates to add a hint of sweetness. For the whitebait I chose to simply flash fry the little suckers in a bit of olive oil and butter, season and toss with a squeeze of lemon juice. Delicious! To play on the black and white theme I topped with some seaweed caviar for a satisfyingly salty finish. Ditto for the scallops – when fresh off the boat they love nothing better than a kiss of butter, a sprinkling of salt and a couple of minutes in a hot pan. Serve the lot with lemon wedges and a dollop of tartare sauce.