This is all about the batter and my batter is made with chickpea flour, which gives a nice light crispy coating. A bit of spice is nice so I like to add my spice blend, but you can leave this out if you prefer. Yes, it is a bit of work, compared with nipping to the chippy, but well worth the effort.
Ingredients
Fish
- 100 g chickpea flour, well sieved, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp Davina’s spice blend
- 150 ml chilled water or beer
- vegetable oil to half fill a deep-fryer or a large saucepan
- 4 fish fillets, about 150–200 g each
- salt and black pepper
Chips
- 1 kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Pipers or King Edwards (unpeeled)
- 2–3 tbsp vegetable oil
Tartare Sauce
- 150 g Davina’s mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp capers, finely chopped
- ½ grated lime zest and juice
- a small bunch of coriander, finely chopped, including stems
- 1 mild green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
How to Make It
- Start by making the tartare sauce. Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and black pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
- Next, get the chips in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges, leaving the skin on. Put the wedges in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 2 minutes, then drain and dry them off as much as possible.
- Arrange the potato wedges on a large baking tray and drizzle over the vegetable oil, making sure all the potatoes are covered. Sprinkle with salt and cook in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes.
- To make the batter for the fish, sieve the chickpea flour in a bowl with the spice blend, if using, and half a teaspoon of salt. Whisk in the water or beer to make a smooth batter.
- When the chips are nearly ready, heat the oil for cooking the fish in a deep-fryer or a large saucepan and test the heat with a cube of bread. The oil is ready when the cube of bread takes about 30 seconds to crisp up and turn an even golden brown. Please be extra careful when deep-frying and never leave a pan of hot oil unattended.
- Spread some chickpea flour on a plate. Dust a couple of fish fillets in flour, then dip them in the batter. Carefully drop the fish into the oil and fry until crisp and brown this will take about 3 minutes. Drain the fried fish on kitchen towel. Fry the rest of the fish in the same way and serve immediately with the chips and tartare sauce.
