Homemade battered fish n’ chips

Homemade fish n’ chips can sound and feel daunting until you actually try it out. I can promise that after you see how easy and tasty it is you’ll be hooked (excuse the pun). Delicious served with mushy minted peas.

Serves 4:

4 medium fillets of white fish (cod, haddock, whiting etc)

Sea salt & black pepper

1 litre of good vegetable oil

1kg scrubbed potatoes skins left on

8oZ of plain flour and some for coating

3 heaped tablespoons of baking soda

284ml of a good beer/ larger

Method

1. Making sure the fillets are free of bones cut them into 2-inch wide strips. Season well and set aside. Preheat oven to 150ºc.

2. Thinly chip the potatoes, skins and all.

3. To make the batter, in a mixing bowl sift in the flour, add a pinch of salt and baking soda. Pour in the beer/larger and whisk together looking for a double cream consistency. Let it foam up or rise.

Half fill a wok with good quality vegetable oil and put it on a medium-high heat (it shouldn’t get too hot too quick).

Pop a chip into the oil, if it rises to the oil is ready. Remove the chip. Dip a piece of fish into a shallow bowl of flour, coating it right round then straight into the batter, again coating it fully. Carefully lower it into the hot oil. You could maybe have 2 or 3 pieces in at the one time. Give them a few mins ant turn them over in the oil using kitchen tongs. Once golden on both sides remove carefully (again) onto a baking tray and pop into the oven. (This will both finish the cooking off and dry off some of the oil making it dry and fluffy not oily and soggy).

Repeat for remainder of fish. Once fish are all into the oven carefully put chips into the fish oil. When golden remove using a large slotted spoon.