Classic Fish and Chips at Home

Nothing beats fish and chips done properly at home: shatteringly crisp batter around thick flakes of white fish, with fluffy-middled chips. Chip shops traditionally use cod or haddock — from our own counter, sea bass or barramundi fillets fry up every bit as well.

Ingredients

• 4 white fish fillets (about 180g each), skin off
• 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 300ml very cold sparkling water or beer
• 1kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper), cut into thick chips
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt, malt vinegar, lemon wedges
• Mushy peas or tartare sauce, to serve

Method

1. Chip the potatoes. Rinse the chips, dry well, then blanch in oil at 140°C for 8 minutes until soft but pale. Drain.
2. Make the batter. Whisk flour, baking powder and ice-cold sparkling water until just combined — lumps are fine, cold is everything.
3. Fry the fish. Heat the oil to 180°C. Dust the fillets in flour, coat in batter and fry 6–8 minutes until deep gold and crisp.
4. Crisp the chips. Return the chips to the 180°C oil for 2–3 minutes until golden.
5. Serve immediately with salt, vinegar, lemon and mushy peas.

Fishmonger’s tip: thick, evenly-cut fillets fry best — tell us it’s for frying and we’ll cut them to size.