Fish n' Chips

I'm getting awfully brave. I went off to the store with fish in mind but I was actually wondering if the cod was still on special. Fish and Chips would be great tonight! It takes a lot of confidence to 'want' to do battered deep fried fish, and chips. It was still on special and it looked good. I chose a 300gm piece, a bag of lettuce and headed home, after paying of course. 

I made far too many french fries and even managed to make a salad and tartar sauce.

Beer Batter

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

~3/4 bottle of beer

Mine was a bit thick and lumpy but it cooked up fine. I salted the fish first then coated it in flour and then dipped it in the batter. Hold the fish in the oil for a few seconds till it starts to float, then let it go.

I got the fries going first at 325ºF. It took four batches to pre cook all the fries for 3 minutes. Then I put the fish in the 325ºF oil and found it wasn't browning fast enough so I turned the heat up.  That helped. I cooked the fish perfectly. I'm beginning to think battered fish is more forgiving than it appears. I managed to do the final 3 minutes on the fries at 375ºF in 3 batches. Fern complained it cooled the oil too much and made the fries greasy. Next time, don't rush. 

While all that was happening I managed to mix a 

Vinaigrette

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp soy oil or any oil

1 tsp rice vinegar

salt

pepper

a dot of dijon mustard

I bought a bag of the spring mix and tossed it in. I managed to get everything coated. My hand, ring, watch, even a bit of the salad!

Tartar Sauce

2 tsp sweet relish

1 tbsp mayonnaise

dot of dijon mustard

Salting the cod first made a difference, the fish stood up on it's own. The batter was crisp and tasty. I like the tartar sauce although I know it's not a true version. The fries were almost perfect. The salad was really nice. Those bags of mixed lettuce are fairly economical considering all the things in them. Buying all that myself would cost a bundle and half of it would rot before we could eat it.

Overall, it was a feast. A good one! For about $5 worth of cod.

Hmm. fried chicken ...... mmmmmm.......