How to make the perfect British fish and chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients

4x180gm haddock fillet 180gm per portion, cleaned and filleted - you can also use cod or hake

600ml batter

800gm mushy peas

300gm tartare sauce

800gm hand-cut chips

2 lemon halves

300gm seasoned flour (salt, pepper and curry powder mixed together)

8gm Maldon sea salt (to season)

1lt Sunflower oil for frying

Batter

350ml sparking water

250gm flour (sieved)

8gm baking powder

1 tbsp oil

8gm curry powder

3gm salt and ground pepper for seasoning

Chips

4 large potatoes (Maris Piper)

Mushy peas

150gm frozen peas

10gm white onions (peeled, and finely diced)

5gm butter (unsalted)

5gm fresh mint (washed, picked and chopped)

2gm garlic cloves (peeled and finely chopped)

50ml vegetable stock (cook root vegetables such as onion, celery and stalks of mint for 30 minutes)

Tartare sauce

200ml mayonnaise

25gm capers (finely chopped)

25gm gherkins (finely chopped)

25gm shallots (finely chopped)

2gm flat leaf parsley (washed, picked and chopped)

Seasoning to taste

Method:

The batter

1. Firstly, prepare the batter by mixing together the flour, baking powder and curry powder.

2. Add some oil to bind it together.

3. Add the sparkling water to make a smooth batter.

4. Add the seasoning and leave to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.

Tartare sauce

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl, and correct the seasoning.

The mushy peas

1. Blanch the peas in boiling salted water, and drain immediately. Run under cold water, drain again then dry.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pan set to medium heat, add the butter, onions and garlic. Let them sweat until they don’t change colour.

3. Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil, remove from the heat and then allow to cool a bit.

4. Add the peas.

5. Blend the mixture to a coarse texture.

6. Add the mint and season to taste.

The chips

1. Peel the potatoes.

2. Wash the knife and use the wet knife to cut potatoes lengthways into roughly half inch slices.

3. Cut each slice into thick chips.

4. Rinse in a colander under plenty of cold water to remove excess starch.

5. Dry on a kitchen paper.

6. Heat a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan with the sunflower oil to 130C. It's important to use a cooking thermometer and check the temperature regularly. Or you can use an electric deep-fat fryer heated to 130C.

7. Lower the chips into the oil using a metal spider or slotted spoon and stir carefully. Fry for 10 minutes, or until cooked through, but without any colour. Remove from the oil, drain onto kitchen paper, and set to the side.

8. When ready to serve, reheat the oil to 190C.

9. Place the chips in the oil using the spider or slotted spoon, and cook again for 4 to 5 minutes or until the chips are crisp and golden-brown. Carefully remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. Season with the Maldon sea salt.

The fish

1. Reheat the sunflower oil to 180C, and as soon as the oil gets hot, add a little of the batter to test if the oil is ready - it should sizzle up.

2. Add the fish to the seasoned flour and dust all over.

3. Remove all the excess flour, then dip into the batter mix.

4. Carefully lower battered fish into the oil, being careful not to drop it in so the oil doesn’t spill out. Cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick the fish is. Keep moving the fish around in the pan while cooking.

5. When the batter is a golden brown and super crispy, use a spoon or tongs to remove the fish from the oil and drain on the kitchen paper. Sprinkle with the sea salt.

Serve with the double-cooked chips, mushy peas with the tartare sauce and lemon wedge on the side

Note: This article was first published in May, 2021.

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