Homemade fish and chips are guaranteed to be good. Try it with James Martin’s cold, crushed chilli peas, for a new twist on an old favourite
Ingredients
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
15g/½oz fresh yeast
pinch sugar
300ml/10fl oz beer
1 tsp cider vinegar
200g/7oz plain flour
pinch salt
1 large plaice or lemon sole, skinned, pin-boned and cut into strips
300g/10½oz floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper), peeled, cut into 1cm/½in thick chips and rinsed in cold water
½ lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
For the crushed garden peas
50g/1¾oz frozen peas, defrosted
50g/1¾oz natural yoghurt
pinch chilli flakes
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
For the fish and chips, heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 190C, or half fill a deep heavy pan with oil and heat until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped in. (Caution: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into a mixing bowl. Pour over the beer and vinegar and whisk in the flour and salt. Leave to ferment. It is ready to use when the mixture starts to bubble.
Dip the fish in the batter and deep-fry until golden-brown and cooked through (about 3-4 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Add the potatoes to the deep-fat fryer and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
For the peas, place the peas, yoghurt, chilli flakes, salt and pepper into a blender and blend until almost smooth.
Mix in the mint just before serving and serve immediately with the fish and chips.
Source: BBC FOODS
