Missing your Friday night takeaways or meals out whilst under lockdown? Us too, but this at-home version of a classic fish supper definitely hits the spot - and almost makes up the fact you've got to do your own washing up! The recipe below looks quite detailed, but it's actually not too tricky a dish to put together and is definitely worth it for a Friday night or weekend treat. As is key at the minute, adapt and improvise as you see fit, we used very small potatoes because thats what we had, and I left the skin on, because who doesn't love a skin on chip! For the fish we used frozen fillets, as that's all we could get hold of - just defrost slowly in the fridge on kitchen paper to absorb excess water and they behave near enough the same as fresh, but of course, use fresh if your supermarket is faring better than ours! And lastly, if you're not the world's biggest tartare fan, you could reduce the quantities of gherkins/capers or remove entirely and add garlic for a garlic aioli instead.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the chips:
Approx 2 large floury potatoes (we actually used about 6 very small ones, courtesy of our favourite Oddbox!)
1 tbsp olive oil
For the Tartare Sauce:
1 egg yolk
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp garlic paste
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml oil (I used half vegetable oil, half olive oil)
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp pickled gherkins
handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
For the pea puree:
200g frozen peas
½ tsp garlic paste
30g butter
½ tsp dried mint
½ tsp dried parsley
For the fish:
50g flour (plus extra for dusting)
90ml fizzy water/ beer
2 white fish fillets, we used haddock, but you could use cod too
Flavourless oil for frying (vegetable/sunflower etc)
Lemon wedge, to serve (optional)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180 fan.
- Start by making the chips - chop the potatoes into chunky chips, I aimed for about 1.5cm thick, but don't worry too much about edges and strange bits (unless you particularly want perfection!) they just get nice and crispy! Lay out onto a baking tray, season and drizzle with olive oil, then toss about slightly to coat. Pop into the oven for 45 mins-1hr until cooked through, nicely golden all over and fluffy inside.
- Whilst the chips cook, make all the other elements. Start by making the tartare. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, and vinegar, with a balloon whisk or electric whizzers. Next, add the oil in a very slow stream, literally a couple of drops at a time, whisking continuously. This part is so important to allow for proper emulsification and avoiding splitting!
- Once you've got just over half the oil in, you are past the critical stage and can add the remainder slightly quicker, still whisking continuously, until you have a thickened, creamy mayonnaise. If the mixture does split, don't panic, just quickly whisk in either another egg yolk, or a tablespoon of warm water, to re-bind.
- Once all the oil is in and the mayo base is complete, add the lemon juice, capers, gherkins & parsley - the lemon juice will thin the mixture a little, but that's ok for tartare! Stir together and season with black pepper, and a little salt if needed. Spoon into a serving dish and refrigerate whilst you finish everything else.
- Prepare the batter for the fish, whisking together the flour with the fizzy water or beer (you may not need all the exact qtys of each) until you have a smooth, thick batter. Season with salt. Sprinkle some extra flour on a small plate, ready for covering the fish in.
- For the pea puree, add the peas and garlic paste to a pan of boiling water (this makes the garlic flavour a little more subtle, as opposed to blending raw puree in!), bring back up to the boil and simmer for 2 mins. Drain, reserving the cooking water, and add the peas to a food processor with the butter and dried herbs. Whizz until your desired consistency - I did ours on the smoother side, but still with some texture - adding a little of the garlicky cooking water if too thick. Season and taste then leave in the processor with the lid on - it should stay warm until serving.
- For the fish, pour 1.5-2cm oil into a deep saute or frying pan and pop on a high heat. You need to get it hot enough so that when you spoon a little batter in, it sizzles and quickly begins browning.
- Once up to temperature, pop the fillets onto the flour plate and pat the flour all over the fish. This helps the batter stick. Shake off any excess then dip into the batter, ensuring the fillet is covered all over. hold the fillet up and allow excess to drain off, then carefully place into the hot oil, laying the fillet down away from you in case the oil splashes. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fillet, but you're looking for a deep golden colour on each side, with the fish feeling firm to the touch. Mine took about 3 mins each side.
- Once cooked, remove fish with a slotted spoon or spatula and pop on some kitchen roll to drain off any excess oil.
- By this point the chips should be cooked and we're ready to serve! Check that the puree is still warm (if not, or you want it piping hot, give it a blast in the microwave or heat through in a pan with a little more of the cooking water) and start by plating this in a lovely big dollop on the plate. Add the chips next to this (seasoning with salt/vinegar if you like) and pop the cod half on top of the puree. Serve the tartare in a pot on the side and add a wedge of lemon to the plate, if you like.
- Eat immediately!
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