Fish, Chips and Minted Mushy Peas

Ingredients

Fish and Chips

LOTS of sunflower oil for deep frying
4 good white fish fillets (suggestion: snapper)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 cups plain flour + 2-3 Tbs extra for dusting
1 heaping Tbsp baking powder
1-1/4 cups of cold beer
4-5 big potatoes, peeled and sliced into chip-sized pieces

Minted peas

20g unsalted butter
4 cups of shelled peas
A small handful of fresh mint leave, chopped
One squeeze of lemon juice from half a lemon
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Method

Mushy peas

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the peas and chopped mint. Cover the pan, turn the heat down a little bit and simmer for 10 minutes. (You will have to give the peas a shake every now and then to keep them from burning.) Add the lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. Then blend the peas in a blender till completely mashed. Keep the peas warm while making your fish & chips.

Fish

Pour sunflower oil into a wok – enough to dunk the fish in – and heat to 190C. While oil is heating, season the fish fillets with the sea salt and pepper. In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the flour, baking powder and beer.

Leave your fish for a minute and work on your chips. Parboil your sliced potatoes in boiling water for 4-5 minutes till softened. Drain them in a colander and leave them there to blow off steam till they are dry.

Dust the fish with some of the extra flour, and use a pair of silicon tongs (or the back of two spoons) to dip the fish into the batter and allow the excess to drip off. Then immediately lower the fish into the hot oil one at a time. Cook for 4 minutes or so until batter is golden. Remove from oil

Chips

Bring oil to about 175C. Throw in the chips and fry till golden. While the chips are frying, place the fish on a baking tray and stick ‘em in the oven at 175C to finish cooking. Remove your chips from the oil, remove your fish from the oven, and serve it all up with the mushy peas.