Serves 6-8

Olive oil

• 2 lbs mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 3 oz white wine
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Batter

• ½ lb self-rising flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 oz milk
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Pinch of crushed dried chili (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 sprigs of fresh basil, roughly chopped
• Grated zest of 1 lemon

1. Heat a little oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat
2. Add mussels and wine and cover with lid
3. Quickly steam the mussels for 3-5 minutes, then remove the pan from heat and strain the mussels in a colander.
4. Allow the mussels to cool, then remove them from their shells. Roughly chop the mussel meat and set aside
5. Sift the self-raising flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the eggs
6. Gently whisk the milk into the mixture, incorporating all of the flour. Keep whisking to get rid of the lumps until you have a thick smooth batter
7. Add the onion and the mussel meat to the batter
8. In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and a pinch of salt (and optional chili) together to form a paste.
9. Add the basil and continue to pound until smooth
10. Spoon the green puree into the batter and add the lemon zest; season with salt and black pepper
11. Drop 1 tbsp of the mixture into hot oil in the pan
12. Cook the fritters in batches of about 8 at a time so that the oil stays hot. Fry until golden brown on one side, turn over. Total cooking time should be about 3 minutes
13. Pat the fritters with paper towel and serve with lemon wedges.

Recipe courtesy of Bart Van Olphen