Battered Snapper Fillet, Triple-cooked Chips, Pea Purée and Tartar Sauce - Chef Recipe by Marcel Schulter

Ingredients

800 g Goldband snapper fillets

Chips:

8 large potatoes
Salt to taste
Sprig of thyme

Batter:

300 g self-raising flour
260mL soda water
100 g trisol

Pea purée:

50 g butter
1/2 chopped brown onion
300 g peas
75mL water
Salt and pepper to taste

Tartar sauce:

4 egg yolks
2 tsp seeded mustard
20mL vinegar
200mL vegetable oil
50 g cornichons
10 g capers
5 g chopped parsley
2 hard-boiled eggs

Method

Chips:

Cut the potatoes into long strips about 13 mm wide and 10 cm long. Put the cut chips under cold running water to wash off some of the starch.

Lay chips on a steamer tray and season with salt. Steam for 30 minutes until cooked, then place in the blast chiller to cool quicky and draw out excess moisture (or place somewhere cool and dry).

Once cool, heat oil in a deep fryer to 140 C. Lower the chips into the hot oil in a wire basket and deep fry for 10 minutes. Remove from fryer, drain and leave to cool until needed.

When ready to serve, heat oil to 180 C and deep fry the chips for about 6-7 minutes until golden and very crispy.

Remove from fryer and drain on kitchen paper. Season with salt and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Batter:

Mix flour, chopped thyme and trisol together in a bowl and whisk in the soda water to make a smooth batter. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pea purée:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add chopped onion and salt and sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until softened.

Pour on the water and bring to the boil. Take off heat and add the peas. Tip pea mixture into a blender and blitz to a purée, then pass through a fine chinois into a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste.

Tartar sauce:

Put egg yolks, mustard and wine vinegar into a blender and blitz briefly to combine. With the motor running, slowly pour in the oil and blend until emulsified to a thick mayonnaise.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in capers, cornichons, parsley and chopped boiled egg.

Snapper:

Heat deep fryer to 180 C. Dip fish fillets into flour, turn to coat all over; shake off any excess.

Dip fish into batter, carefully add to hot oil and deep fry for 5 minutes until cooked.

Plating:

Serve fish with a sprig of thyme, lime wedges and triple-cooked chips, with pea purée and tartar in side bowls.