Food with passion: Beer Batter Fish & Chips with Minty Mushy Peas
This is fast becoming one of my most favourite suppers. It’s basically a ramped-up smarter version of fish and chips, but with the volume turned up.
Not healthy like my previous recipe for healthy fish and chips, but worth making as a special treat instead of oily fish and chips from the local chipper – which let’s be honest, from time to time is a treat too!
I make the fish into goujons and shallow fry as I don’t like deep fat frying nor do I own a deep fat fryer.
The minty mushy peas are super easy and delicious and served with hassle back potatoes you have all the perfect side dishes for a tasty and delicious dinner!
Ingredients Fish Goujons (Serves 4)
- Sunflower or rapeseed oil for shallow frying
- 500g skinless haddock fillets – cut into bite-size goujons
- 3-4 tablespoons of plain flour plus an additional 75g for the batter
- 200ml of cold beer
- Lemon wedges to serve
Minty Mushy Peas
- 200g of frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Handful of fresh mint leaves finely chopped
Hasselback potatoes:
Sea salt & cracked black pepper, drizzle of rapeseed oil, 500g of baby new potatoes (skin on) and teaspoon of fresh thyme
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180° Celsius.
- With a sharp knife make small cuts on each potato, almost cutting right through to create deep ridges on each one of them. Place into a baking tray, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and the fresh thyme and pop into the oven and roast for 35- 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile to make the minty pea mash, melt the butter in a medium sizes saucepan until its nice and foamy. Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the oil and mint leaves and mash together until the peas are roughly smooth.
- To make the fish goujons place 75g of the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well and put in a little of the beer and mix through. Then add the remaining beer and mix until you have a nice smooth batter. Season with some cracked black pepper and heat your oil.
- To check if the oil if hot enough, drop a little bit of the batter into the pan – if it puffs up and floats, the oil is hot enough.
- Working beside your frying pan dip each of the goujons into the remaing flour and then the batter and fry in the hot oil. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan as it will reduce the heat and your goujons won’t become golden and crisp. Cook for 4 minutes, turning half way through until nice and golden, and leave to rest on some kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil. Season with sea salt and serve with a dollop of minty mushy peas and some hasselback potatoes and a wedge of lemon – enjoy!
I love lashings of good quality malt vinegar with this supper and I have found the goujons are a great way to get kids to eat fish and veer them away from fish fingers.
You can of course use any white fish for this recipe such as cod, whiting or hake instead of haddock, whatever takes your fancy, but serving it with the peas and roasted potatoes is a healthier version of chip shop alternative fish and chips that doesn’t compromise on flavour!
