Mussel Bobotie With Pumpkin Fritters

Ingredients

For the mussel bobotie

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200 g grated carrots
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pinch chili powder
• 1 kg mussels, cooked and shelled
• 15 g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt
• 6 bay leaves

For the topping

• 200 ml sour cream
• 1 pinch salt and black pepper
• 2 eggs

For the pumpkin fritters

• 450 g cooked pumpkin (or butternut squash)
• 50 g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• milk
• vegetable oil, for frying

For the charred tomato relish

• 3 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 2 teaspoons chopped thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

2. 2

   Heat the oil and butter in a pan and gently cook the onion for 2-3 minutes until soft.

3. 3

   Add the garlic, carrot, and all the spices and cook for a further 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Stir in the mussels, breadcrumbs, egg, almonds and lemon juice. Season to taste with the salt.

5. 5

   Pour into 6 large ramekins or 1 large oven-proof baking dish and place the bay leaves in the centre.

6. 6

   To make the topping; whisk together all the topping ingredients and pour over the mussel mixture.

7. 7

   Cook for about 12 minutes for individual ramekins or 30 minutes for the large dish, until firm and golden.

8. 8

   To make the pumpkin fritters; place the dry ingredients in a food processor, add the eggs and process to form a thick batter. The batter should hold it's shape, if too thick add a little milk, if too wet, add a little more flour.

9. 9

   Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Drop heaped tablespoons of the batter into the pan and fry till firm and golden. Flip over and fry on the other side.

10. 10

    Serve warm sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar if you like.

11. 11

    To make the relish; place the tomatoes on a hot barbecue or griddle pan and cook until the skins are charred.

12. 12

    Remove from the heat and cut into dice.

13. 13

    Mix the tomatoes with the onion, thyme, oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

14. 14

    Serve mussels with the pumpkin fritters, charred tomato relish and rice too, if you like!