New Zealand has gone into a total lockdown in an attempt to eliminate the Covid19 virus. Like a lot of other people I am choosing to call it a Rāhui rather than lockdown. This Maori concept is like to "tie ho". It is used to prohibit access to a natural resource temporarily, in order to preserve it. By having this Rāhui we are preserving the natural environment, our society and hopefully ourselves. A Rāhui means that as we can no longer access anything outside our homes, instead we can focus on nourishing those within our homes.

So I am creating some recipes using the things we have here at reach. Vegetables from the garden, fish off the jetty, meat in the freezer, pantry staples, and whatever was in the fridge at the beginning of the Rāhui.

In an attempt to not let anything go to waste I had a look at the vegetables and bits and pieces in the fridge that were getting to the end of their days, and came up with these Mexican-flavoured fritters. Sweetcorn starts to lose its nutrients as soon as they are picked so we had a couple of cobs that were getting tired. In a container in the fridge I found sliced capsicums and some shiso leftover from the prep of a meal 2 days ago. Several avocado on the bench were getting to the end of their days. And I had just made some chipotle mayo to use up some eggs.

So these fritters were born. But basically you could use any tired vegetables and condiments in your fridge. Swap corn for zucchini, add in some rocket or spinach or any other wilted greens lying in the veggie bin. If you don't have feta swap it for some other cheese. Add whatever chillies you have, fresh, frozen, canned- jalpenos, chipotle, whatever. Just use up all the sad stuff in your fridge.

Mexican Fridge Fritters

2 corn cobs

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon pickled jalapenos

60 g feta cheese, crumbled

1 spring onion, finely sliced

6 shiso leaves, finely sliced

1 capsicum finely sliced

1 ripe avocado

4 tablespoons chipotle mayo

Few sprigs coriander

Extra feta

Cut the kernals off the corn cobs, by slicing with a sharp knife down the length of the cob. In a bowl mix the flour with the milk and the corn kernals. Add the egg and add a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Finely chop the jalapenos and add them to the bowl with the crumbled feta and the spring onion. Whisk everything together. Then add the shiso and the capsicum and mix them in thoroughly.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Drop in large spoonfuls of the mix. Don’t overcrowd the pan, You will need to do these in batches. Cook until the fritters are golden on both sides, turning them when the first side is well set and the top has bubbles.

To serve put the fritters on a plate and dollop a spoonful of chipotle may onto each one. Top with some avocado and then a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Finish with chopped coriander.