Plain Pipi Pikelets (Tuatua Surf Clams)

Fresh Pipi that have spent a day de-sanding are delicious.

Shuck em and dice em and try n keep the liquor. Set aside.

INGREDIENTS

A simple fritter mix is:

  • 1 cup flour
  • Half tsp baking soda
  • Half tsp baking flour
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 eggs
  • Glug of apple cider vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients and mix the wet ingredients separately, then combine with a cup of diced Pipis and the reserved liquor to create the batter.

No need to beat the batter into submission, just fold all ingredients together.

Job done!

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat a pan on low to medium heat
  2. Drop in a good knob of butter for every batch of fritters you cook
  3. Ladle in the mix. The trick here is to have plenty of Pipi meat in the mix, using the fritter mix just to catch and bind all ingredients.
  4. Stack em and I like to add jalapenos for the crisp heat, tomato relish, because Mum said we could, and of course the regulatory green stuff for the picture….

Another take on the humble Pipi is to use cornflour instead.

  1. So again shuck and dice the Pipis, this time drain them and remove the liquor
  2. Whisk up 2 eggwhites with a tsp cornflour until they form peaks like a Pavlova
  3. Fold the Pipi meat into the eggwhite mix, much like we do when making whitebait pillows
  4. Heat a pan to medium high heat, drop in the butter knob and dollop in spoonfuls of the mix
  5. They cook quick so keep an eye on em

Once done onto the obligatory bed of green stuff. For this mix I used an aioli cream and diced pickles to add a hint of richness and tart.

Enjoy!