Tasty Diaries
Your weekly dose of culinary delights
Fish recipe adapted from SOS cuisine, chips recipe adapted from Recettes du Quebec
Busy time: 20 min, Total prep time: 30 min
Serves 4
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Prepare the fish:
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Preheat the oven to 250 degrees C
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Peel (optional) and wash the potatoes. Cut lengthways into slices about 1 cm thick, and cut each slice lengthways into sticks 1cm or less thick.
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In a mixing bowl, mix the oil, paprika, mustard and chilli if using (I don’t use it whenever I make these fries for my children - but I like the slightly bity kick they give the fries). Toss the fries into the bowl and mix thoroughly, ensuring that all the chips are coated with the spiced oil. The paprika will give the chips a lovely colour.
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Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your oven tray and dispose the oiled chips on it, making sure they don’t touch each other.
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Bake for 20 minutes in the middle of your oven until golden brown and crisp, turning them over after the first 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper when ready and serve immediately..
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Prepare the fish:
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Start preparing the fish once the fries are in the oven.
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Prepare 2 deep plates, one with the milk and egg whites beaten together (discard the yolks or save for another recipe), the other with the flour, bread crumbs, spices and a pinch of salt.
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Use a small grid that can sit on a dish if you have one. If not, use the oven grid (you will need to place a dish underneath it when baking to catch any drippings from the fish). Oil the grid and place next to the plates.
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One by one, immerse each fish portion first into the dry mixture, then into the milk. Shake gently to allow excess liquid to drip down and coat the fish again in the dry ingredients.
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Once coated, place each fish portion on the grid. When all the portions are finished, brush the top of each fish with sunflower oil. Bake in the top of the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through and nicely golden on the outside.
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Be extra careful when removing the fish as it can stick to the grid. The best is to take the grid out of the oven, place it is a safe place and proceed to remove the fish delicately with a large spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve with the chips and mushed up peas.
Delightfully light oven fish and chips
08/10/2009
With 8,500 shops dedicated to it, there is no doubt fish and chips is at the very core of British culinary identity. It took me a while, but I learned to enjoy this dish. The trouble is every time I eat it, I feel afterwards as if my entire face is covered with a thick layer of fat. So I figured, there has to be a better way. The good without the bad. I researched it and found it. Try it, you’ll love it. Your heart too.
Ingredients:
For the chips:
750 g potatoes
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon chilli (optional)
For the fish:
4 individual portions of cod fillets, skinned
120 ml semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs
60 g flour
70 g breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Dont use olive oil, the fish and chips won’t be as crispy. I tried the chips with various potato varieties and I found the waxier potatoes worked best. The more floury ones, such as large baking potatoes, lost their crispiness quite quickly and became soft and soggy. Go for an all rounder such as Desiree, Rooster potatoes (red skinned ones) or Maris Bard or even try new potatoes. You can also change the spices and use herbs such as thyme or rosemary
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