The Perfect Fish & Chips

Fish and Chips are a staple in every British family's home. And I still remember grabbing dinner with my family on Friday evenings. Bag of fish and chips, a wooden fork and extra to take home. That delicious malt vinegar on those chunky soggy chips! Dipping into those mushy peas and dunking into the tartar sauce. That's the perfect meal in my opinion. A balanced meal........ Just kidding. Now that I'm all grown up and have kids of my own, I now make it all at home, fresh. With Homemade mushy peas and even better, homemade tartar sauce too! Obviously it isn't the same as chips in a paper bag, but I'm sure the kids aren't complaining.

So I'm going to show you how to make them all. I have included the recipe for them below. Make sure you check it out and do let me know how they turned out for you. Send me your dinner inspiration pictures. I would love to see them.

Preparation time 20 minutes Cook time 30 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Fish

225 grams fish- pin boned and cut into long strips

225 grams plus 1/2 cup plain flour

3 heaped teaspoons baking powder

salt and pepper

250 ml carbonated water

Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup finely chopped pickles

1 Tablespoon Dill

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon American mustard

Mushy Peas

1 cup peas

Salt- to taste

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 teaspoon dried mint

Instructions

1. Tartar sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, chopped pickles, dill, lemon juice, sugar, black pepper, salt and American mustard together. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Mushy Peas: Boil the peas with the garlic and salt. Cook until tender. Drain and process in a blender with the dried mint and the sour cream. If you prefer a more chunky mushy pea, then pulse until desired. Cover to keep them warm.

3. For the fish: Marinate the fish with 1/2 teaspoon salt and white pepper. Set aside. This will help remove the excess water from the fish.

4. Dust each piece of fish with 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Set them aside.

5. Heat a medium pot with 4 inches of oil to 160 celsius. This temperature will make sure the fish will cook on the inside and will be crispy on the outside without absorbing the oil.

6. Make the Batter: Whisk 225 grams flour, baking powder and salt and pepper. Slowly add in the fizzy water while mixing to make a batter. The consistency should be like semi whipped cream.

7. Dip each piece of fish in the batter and allow the excess to drip off.

8. Cook each side 2 minutes, remove from the oil and pour over some more batter onto the fish. This will give you extra crunchy batter. Continue to fry the fish for an additional 3-4 minutes until golden.

9. Remove the fish from the oil and place onto paper towels, to remove excess oil.

10. Serve with the Tartar sauce, Mushy Peas, fresh lemon wedges and lots of Chips.