Wheat beer-battered fish and chips

by Tony Fleming
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4
2 hours

Ingredients

Wheat beer-battered fish

  • 4 cod fillets, or haddock, bones removed
  • 200g of plain flour, extra for dusting
  • 20g of fresh yeast
  • 330g of wheat beer
  • 1 pinch of sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt

Mushy peas

  • 250g of marrowfat peas, dried
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1/2 large onion, peeled
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 pinch of bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 knob of butter
  • 1 dash of malt vinegar
  • salt
  • pepper

Triple cooked chips

  • 6 large Maris piper potatoes
  • rapeseed oil
  • salt

Method

1
For the mushy peas, soak the peas in a generous amount of cold water overnight. Strain off the water and place the peas in a large saucepan. Cover with water, bring to the boil, then strain and cover with fresh water again
  • 250g of marrowfat peas, dried
2
Add the peeled carrot, onion, garlic, bay and a pinch of the bicarbonate soda. Bring to the boil for a second time and then turn down the heat and simmer until there is no bite left in the peas, approximately 1 1/2-2 hours
  • 1 large carrot, peeled
  • 1/2 large onion, peeled
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 pinch of bicarbonate of soda
3
Meanwhile, make the batter. Add the flour, yeast, beer, sugar and salt to a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Allow the mixture to stand for 1-2 hours in a warm environment - so that the yeast ferments
  • 200g of plain flour, extra for dusting
  • 20g of fresh yeast
  • 1 pinch of sugar
  • 330g of wheat beer
4
For the chips, wash and peel the potatoes, then cut into chip-sized lengths (preferably 7mm wide). Wash again under cold water, as this will remove any excess starch
  • 6 large Maris piper potatoes
5
Add all the potatoes to a pot with cold salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes until the chips are slightly tender but still very firm. Drain the chips and steam dry until cool
  • salt
6
Blanch the cooled chips in hot rapeseed oil or a deep-fat fryer set to 150˚C for 6-7 minutes. Drain and cool on absorbent kitchen towel. The chips can be set aside at this point to finish later
  • rapeseed oil
7
Remove the carrot, onion, bay and garlic from the cooked peas. Whisk the peas so they start to break down to the right consistency. If the mixture appears to be too wet, continue to cook to thicken, or add a dash more water if too dry
8
Once the consistency looks like mushy peas, season with salt, pepper and malt vinegar taste. Finish with a knob of butter and set aside until required
  • 1 knob of butter
  • 1 dash of malt vinegar
  • salt
  • pepper
9
Once the batter has fermented after 1-2 hours, whisk lightly until smooth
  • 4 cod fillets, or haddock, bones removed
10
Blanch the chips in a pan or deep-fat fryer of hot rapeseed oil at 180˚C until crispy and golden on the outside and tender in the middle. Remove the golden chips from the oil and season with salt immediately
11
Take the cleaned, boneless fish fillets and pat-dry. Dust the fillets in seasoned flour and shake lightly to remove any excess. Dredge in the beer batter and hold upright for a few seconds to allow any excess batter to drip off
12
Using the same frying oil, very carefully place one end of the fish in the hot oil before laying the entire fillet in the pan (this will prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom). Submerge the entire fillet in the oil and cook until golden brown, approximately 4-6 minutes. Remove and place on a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil
  • 1 pinch of salt
13
Dish the fish up onto plates with the chips, mushy peas, a slice of lemon and your favourite sauce