Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas

A British classic, this recipe takes no longer than 1 hour to prepare and it can be done even by those who don’t have much experience in the kitchen. The best types of fish for this meal are the line-caught cod or the haddock, but you will obtain a delicious dish with hake too.

List of ingredients

1-1/2 lbs. fish (hake, cod, or haddock)
10 oz. frozen green peas
2 tbsp. butter
2 lbs. russet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ cup beer
¾ cup sparkling water
1 tsp. lemon juice
the zest of 1 lemon
vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Malt vinegar

Instructions

Now that you know what to include on your next shopping list, let’s see how to cook the fish and chips with mushy peas. Firstly, take a saucepan big enough to hold the peas and 6 cups of water. Boil the water with plenty of salt and then add the frozen peas. Let them boil for no longer than 4 minutes.

Prior to draining the peas, take out 3 tbsp. of water and put it into a separate cup. Add the lemon zest, the cooking water and the butter on top of the drained peas and then mash the peas roughly. You can use a food processor or a potato masher, whichever you prefer. Make sure to put a lid on the pan after you are done mashing, and set it aside. Preheat the over to 200 degrees F and put the peas inside to keep them warm.

Wash the potatoes, peel them and cut them into batons that are approx. 1/3 inches thick. Rinse them with cold water in order to get rid of the first starch layer. Pat them dry and heat about 2 inches of oil at 300 degrees F in a heavy bottomed wide pot. Fry them for about 2 minutes and then put the potatoes on paper towels in order to absorb the excess oil.

Mix the rice flour, 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour, the baking soda and 1 tsp. of salt. Add the lemon juice, the sparkling water and the beer and mix until you obtain a homogenous paste. Refrigerate. Bring the oil to 345 degrees F and fry the potatoes again for 3 minutes. It would be best to do it in 2-3 batches in order to fry them evenly. Repeat the paper towel drying process.

Cut the fish fillet in 1 ½ inch pieces and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Coat the fish with what’s left of the all-purpose flour and then dip it into the refrigerated batter. Fry the fish until it gets a golden-brown color and it looks puffed. The fish should be cooked through in about 5 minutes if the fillets are thin. Keep thick fillets 2 more minutes into the hot oil before transferring them on a plate lined with paper towels.

The potatoes are served with the fish, the warm mushy peas and malt vinegar. This recipe is suitable for 4 servings.