Monday 7 January 2019
Right in line with our nature as foragers was the opportunity to collect “pipis” from the beach. Pipis are similar to mussels, which we love so much we eat them regularly at home.
Tevka & Torin went to the beach with Brie & Claryce and ate their first pipis raw. Adventuresome girls, but I said “No thank you!”
I was much more up for the “recipe” I learned from one of the other pipi pickers who told me how to prepare them:
- Leave in a bucket of saltwater overnight or even 24 hours so they’ll spit out the sand.
- Drain the seawater and sand.
- Pour boiling water over the pipis and then wrap the pot with a towel and allow them to sit for an hour or two.
- Open and eat!
The collecting was so picturesque!
The girls had so much fun, they ended up collecting more than we needed, so they threw back about half of their haul shown above.
It’s hard to believe, but the pipis are uber-prolific…what look like stones in the picture below are all pipis!
The next day we saw the pipis peeking out of their shells…
…and the bottom of the bucket had about an inch of sand!
In keeping with the foraging theme, Torin pepared “zoodles” from her big zucchini, and added a couple spice mixes she got free at the Kerikeri market to complement our pipis.
Bon appetit!
Lackmann Nuggets 