500g whitebait
1 egg
Cracked pepper and salt
Oil for frying
25g butter
4 large Portabello mushrooms
1/2 medium red onion finely diced
1 clove garlic chopped
70g fetta cheese crumbed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped chives
Place Portabello mushrooms in a greased baking dish. Add other ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine well.
Spoon a topping of the mixture onto each mushroom and allow to stand for half an hour to let the flavours blend.
Bake in an oven pre-heated to 180C for 20 minutes or until just cooked.
Fluffy Whitebait Patties
Separate the egg and beat the yolk. Add the whitebait and mix in thoroughly.
In a kitchen whiz, whisk the egg white until light and fluffy.
Now fold the egg white gently into the whitebait until just mixed. The whisked egg white contains a lot of air, which creates a light fluffy fritter. To achieve perfect results the eggs must be at room temperature.
Cover the base of a heavy pan with oil, add butter and heat over a medium to high heat until the butter foams.
Shallow fry spoonfuls of whitebait until golden on each side. Serve with mustard and caper dressing.
Mustard and Caper Dressing
2 free range egg yolks
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp chopped capers
Juice 1 lemon
1 cup olive oil
2 tbsp cold water
1/2 tsp salt
Cracked pepper to taste
Make sure the egg yolks are at room temperature. Add to a blender with mustard, salt, pepper and sweet chilli sauce.
With the blender running slowly drizzle the olive oil a little at a time until a third is mixed – too fast and it will separate. Continue to add the rest of the oil until you achieve the desired consistency. More oil will make a stiff sauce and less will make it runny.
Add the lemon juice and capers – blending well. Finally, blend in 2 tbsp cold water.
