Fish and Chips By Tom Aikens

There is nothing better than fish and chips on a Saturday night.

1. 1

   Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1cm square batons, the length of the
   potato, so they are all the same size. Wash the starch off the potato
   with cold running water. Place into a pan of slightly salted cold water
   and bring to a rapid boil. Cook for 2 minutes at a simmer then drain and
   chill in iced cold water in a bowl which will cool them straight away, and
   will stop them cooking any further. Dry them off very well on a tea towel
   and plunge into the hot oil at 140°C to blanch for 6–8 minutes, then drain.
   Heat the oil back up to 180°C, then plunge the chips back into the oil until
   they are golden brown (approx 4–5 minutes) then season with sea salt.
   You will only have problems with frying if the oil is not hot enough as
   they will not colour properly or go crispy, then they may become
   soggy. When we cook the chips 3 times they will take on some of the
   water when they are blanched, which not only helps the fluffiness of
   the potato, but also helps the potato to become crisp as opposed to
   soggy, as after the chips have been blanched for the first time they
   have started to cook from the inside. This means that when the chips
   hit the oil for the first time they are cooking instead of being blanched
   so for the last fry they will be crispy.
   To prepare the batter, place the flour and salt into a bowl. Mix the rest
   of the ingredients together and leave to stand for a good 10 minutes.
   Then make a well in the flour, pour in the liquid and whisk to a batter.
   (Note: it needs to be whisked very well in order to avoid any lumps,
   plus the beer batter is best used after it has been left to stand for
   15–20 minutes.)
   Next, using your hands, dip the fish in the batter and make sure it is coated
   all over. Fry in hot oil at 180°C (you can use the same pan as for the chips)
   and cook for approx 8–10 minutes, then drain onto kitchen paper
   before serving with the chips.
   Tartar sauce is great with battered fish as it gives it a refreshing taste
   through the oily batter. Whisk the mustard, salt, pepper and egg yolks
   together in a bowl. Then, slowly pour the oil onto the egg yolks while
   whisking well. As you keep adding all the oil, you will need to add a
   little water to the mayonnaise as it may get too thick and split. Once
   all the oil has been added, mix the rest of the ingredients into the
   mayonnaise and serve.