Fish and chips

I really fancied fish and chips for tea last night but the local chip shop changed hands a bit over a year ago and the quality has seriously gone downhill since. So I decide to make my own.

Waitrose has some nice pieces of Hake on offer, so I bought a good sized fillet which I later cut in half.  While I was there I also bought a squid bit, which I cut into rings.  And I decided to do the fish and squid in breadcrumbs rather than batter.  While I was about it, I also bought some baking potatoes.

Back at home I dipped the fish pieces and the squid rings in flour, egg and Japanese style breadcrumbs, and then I did all three stages again.  I cut the (peeled) potatoes into chunky chip shapes and parboiled them.  Then I fried them in batches in very hot oil until they were colouring up.  While they were draining I fried the fish pieces until they were crisp and golden.  Then I fried the chips again until they were crisp and crunchy, and then the fish again just to crisp it up a bit.  The squid rings I did last of all, just once.

I served all this with boiled peas, lemon wedges and balsamic vinegar on the chips.  It was extremely delicious. The Builder even had a second helping of chips (or the few that I didn't have room to eat!). It also didn't take all that long to prepare.  Probably no longer than it would have taken to walk to the chippy, wait in line, wait for the food be be cooked and walk home again!

But I forgot to take photos :-S