Whitebait season is upon us again and this year I have vowed to heed the words of General Douglas MacArthur: "I shall return" to the shores of Lake Onoke in Wairarapa and fish for what is surely one of the world's most tasty morsels.
For the past couple of years I have failed to make time for whitebaiting and it has rankled. There are few experiences as pleasing on the palate as a good feed of whitebait, apart from paua and crayfish perhaps, and yet some people don't like them.
I think I know why, but readers may have other views. It seems to me few people, outside the hardy souls who turn up year on year to chase the bait, know how best to prepare them for eating, and yet it is so simple.
Bait needs very little preparing to be super tasty. My favourite way is simply to rub a little butter or oil into the frypan and tip them in.
Give them a minute of two and tip them out on to a nice, thick slice of toast, sprinkle on a little salt and get stuck in.
What could be more simple than that?
If you must make them into fritters then for goodness sake let them be whitebait fritters, not a heap of flour saturated with egg with the odd little whitebait peeping out from within. You may as well eat a scone.
Catching bait is one of the best ways of unwinding. If you are at the mouth of Lake Onoke scooping for them then it can be hard work, but if the bait are running you won't even notice the effort. Setting nets on the lake or river edges is much more leisurely and my wife and I often take that option and go well prepared for a day out. We fill the thermos, pack the coffee sachets, pre-cook a few "bangers", toss in a loaf of bread and away.
When you get settled at your spot - and providing fire bans are not in force - gather up a bit of driftwood and light a fire on the beach then roll a few potatoes into the embers to cook slowly. You will never taste a better spud.
Times like whitebaiting season are what makes life special in rural New Zealand and sets us apart from those from the "big smoke" who may well have expensive restaurants for dining out and wall-to-wall fast food outlets but many have never had the privilege of sitting at lake's edge tucking into nature's best, for free.
Eat ya heart out.
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