We all have happy memories of eating fish and chips from a paper wrapping, sitting on the seafront, but it’s fair to say that today it’s hard to find good fish and chips. Ours ARE good. The fish is breaded, so is light, crisp and less greasy than battered fish, and the generously cut chips are crunchy on the outside, tender within.
Ingredients
- 4 skinless white fish fillets, weighing about 200 g each
- plain white flour
- 2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt
- 200 g fine, dried white breadcrumbs (or matzomeal)
- sea salt
Chips
- 1 kg maris piper potatoes
- vegetable oil for deep-frying
To Serve
- Tartare sauce
- lemon wedges
How to Make It
- Start with the chips. Peel the potatoes and cut into chips of equal thickness – about 1 cm. Quickly rinse in cold water and drain, then dry with kitchen paper or a tea towel.
- Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pan (or a deep-fryer) to fill it no more than one-third full. Heat up the oil to 140°C.
- Fry the chips in a basket in three batches for 4–6 minutes until they are just soft inside. They should not be at all crisp at this stage.
- Tip them onto a tray in a thin layer so that they will cool down more quickly. Keep aside until you are ready for the next stage (this part can be done in advance).
- Toss the fish in flour, then dip into egg, ensuring it is coated all over, and finally coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Place on a tray, in one layer and not touching, and keep in the fridge until needed.
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 175°C.
- Heat the pan of oil to 180°C. Add the fish and deep-fry for 4–5 minutes until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with sea salt. Keep hot in the oven while you finish the chips.
- Heat up the oil to 190°C. Deep-fry the chips in batches for 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
- Serve the fish and chips with tartare sauce and lemon wedges.