Here is another classic dish that you find on the menu in restaurants all around the county, we are lucky enough to have the freshest seafood around here in Mayo, and we like to cook it in the most modern ways. It is very hard to beat the classic cod and homemade chips recipe though, so here goes.
Beer battered cod, served with chunky homemade chips, pea puree and side salad
This one will serve four people and will have their plates cleaned in no time.
Ingredients
For the chips
2 pounds (950 grams ) floury potatoes, like russets, peeled and cut into large chips
For the batter
1 cup plain flour
1 cup beer
2 eggs
Salt
Black pepper
Chopped parsley
Pinch of turmeric
For the fish
4 (9 ounce/250 gram ) fillets cod, skinned and pin boned
For the peas
100g frozen peas
Salt
Cream
For the salad
Mixed lettuce
Chopped tomato
Chopped onion
Chopped cucumber
Dressing
Method
First thing to do is to make the batter. In a bowl, add the flour, eggs, seasoning and the beer, and then whisk it all together until you get a smooth batter. Put this in the fridge to settle for at least 30 minutes.
Cut your potatoes into large chips and cook in a large saucepan of boiling water for 12 minutes. Put the pan under running cold water to refresh the chips and to stop them from cooking any further.
Cook the peas in boiling water for about five minutes, drain, and season, add a splash of cream then mash them with a potato masher. To make the salad, chop the lettuce and add the remaining ingredients to a bowl and mix well so that the dressing coats all the salad leaves.
Heat your deep fat fryer to 150C. Cook your chips for about five minutes at this temperature and then remove and turn up the fryer to 170C.
Remove the batter from the fridge and give it a little whisk to bring all the ingredients together. You should get a lovely smell of the yeast from the beer at this point. Get a plate and put some seasoned flour on it. Coat both sides of the fish in the flour and then put into the batter.
Carefully put the fish into the hot fryer and cook for about five minutes until crispy. Remove the fish with a metal tongs and drain the excess oil off.
Finish cooking off your chips in the hot oil and then you are ready to serve it up. Season the chips with salt and vinegar when you are draining them, and evenly place on the plates. Top with the perfectly fried cod and place some of your pea puree on the plate. Serve the salad on the side and there you have it.
Classic fish and chips, simple to prepare and delicious, and a perfect meal as you sit down to watch Mayo hammer Kerry on the TV.
If you want a recipe for anything at all, written properly and easy to understand, you can e-mail me on [email protected] and I will do my best to help you. Talk to you next week.
