Recipe: Perfect Fish and Chips

Serves four

THREE-TIMES COOKED CHIPS

250g Maris Pipers per person

2 litres vegetable oil or rapeseed oil

Maris Pipers are the best potatoes to use for chips as they're consistently better throughout the year. If you can't get hold of them, then use other varieties, such as King Edwards or Red Desirees. The reason that the Maris Piper is so excellent is the dry-matter content that it contains, which is about 21.5% to 23%. This is the starch content in the potato, and once the potato's cooked, this is then turned to sugar, giving it the best even colour and fluffiness.

Peel the potatoes and then cut into 1cm-square batons the length of the potato so they're all the same size. Wash the starch off the potatoes very well, then place them into a pan of slightly salted water and bring to a rapid boil. Drain instantly, chill them straight away in cold running water to stop them cooking any further, then drain and dry them off well with a

tea towel.

Place the oil into a large pan and heat it to 140˚C, drop the chips carefully into the oil to blanch them for 2?3 minutes, then drain onto kitchen paper. Heat the oil back up to 180˚C, then plunge the potatoes back into the oil until they're golden brown all over (approxi-mately 3?5 minutes), then drain with a slotted spoon and season with sea salt.

BEER FISH BATTER

300g high-gluten bread

flour (T55)

60g cornflour

15g sugar

1½tsp salt

¼tsp white pepper

250ml sparkling water

250ml Heineken or other lager

30g fresh yeast or one packet

of dried yeast

METHOD

Sieve all the dry ingredients together, then sprinkle on the yeast to a fine crumble. Slowly whisk in the beer and water until very smooth. Cover this in clingfilm and leave in a warm place?just warm, not hot?for about 45 to 60 minutes to ferment.

FOR THE DISH

Four 140g fillets of pollock (or you can use gurnard or ling)

Salt and pepper

Flour

METHOD

Season the fish with salt and pepper, place into the flour, then into the batter and fry at 180˚C for about six minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve with the chips and the tartar sauce and enjoy.

TARTAR SAUCE

4 egg yolks

¾g milled black pepper

10g English mustard

8g lemon juice

15g white wine vinegar

750ml vegetable oil

2 tbsp water

5g salt

75g chopped gherkins

75g chopped capers

10g chopped parsley

75g chopped shallots

METHOD

Whisk the mustard, salt, pepper, egg yolk and vinegar in a bowl for 2?3 minutes, then slowly pour the oil on to the egg, whisk-ing well. Keep adding all the oil you'll need to add a little water to the mayonnaise as it may get too thick and split. Then add the rest of the ingredients. You may want to cut the recipe in half, depending on how many people you're serving. But it will keep in the fridge for up to five days covered in clingfilm.

Tom Aikens on sustainable fishing