Turkish Fried Mussels With 'Tarator' Sauce

• First, prepare the tarator dipping sauce by combing the yogurt, bread crumbs, crushed walnuts, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a chopper or food processor. Set the sauce aside to set.

• Next, prepare the mussels. Make sure the mussels have no remaining pieces of beard or debris. Rinse them under very cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.

• Dip each mussel in flour and shake off the excess.

• Put three floured mussels on each bamboo skewer leaving space at one end for holding.

• In a deep skillet or saucepan add the oil and heat it for frying.

• While the oil heats up, whisk together the club soda, flour, salt and egg yolk until smooth in a large mixing bowl.

• When it thickens to resemble the consistency of cake batter, stop whisking and set it aside.

• In a separate bowl, stir together the water and baking soda until well combined. Set it aside.

• Dip the mussels on each skewer in the batter and turn it until all the mussels are well covered.

• After the batter, immediately dip the mussels in the baking soda and water mixture and put it in the hot oil to fry.

• Turn the mussels on the skewer as they cook with thongs so they brown evenly on all sides.

• Put a few hot skewers on a plate with a dollop of tarator sauce for dipping. You can also spread some tarator sauce between the crusts of a hunk of Turkish bread.

• Then use the bread to hold the mussels and slide them off the skewer.

You have an instant fried mussel sandwich!

Recipe Courtesy The Spruce Eats photo from Yemek Tarifleri