Fish ?n? Chips with Tartar Sauce.

I woke up this morning with the strong craving for some nice fish ‘n’ chips. Seriously, I felt like I had to die, if I didn’t get any in the next 12 hours. So, I went grocery shopping, got some pollock filet, wheat beer and russet potatoes.

Too bad, I didn’t have any old newspaper to wrap it all in. But I served it with a nice tartar sauce and some vinegar. For the Fries I followed the instructions in Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook and the result was great! I just love big, crunchy and still creamy french fries!

Ingredients:

serves three

3 white fish fillets, about 5 oz. each

1 1/2 cups of wheat beer

3/4 cup of AP flour

2 tsp. of baking powder

4 big russet potatoes

oil for deep frying (preferably grapeseed or peanut)

3 tbsp. mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1/2 tsp. fresh dill, minced

3 tbsp. finely diced dill pickles

2 tbsp. lemon juice

salt & pepper

Start with making the tartar sauce. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream or yoghurt, dill, pickles and lemon juice and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1/2 inch thick pieces and immediately put them in a bowl with cold water to stop them from oxidizing and get rid of the starch. Let them sit for about 15 minutes to one hour and rinse them afterwards.

Heat oil to 285 degrees and blanch the fries for about 8 minutes or until translucent. Take them out and put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Let them rest for at least 15 minutes.

Now, make the beer batter for the fish and start heating up the oil to 375 degrees. In a wide bowl mix flour, baking powder and beer until a thick batter is formed. Add some salt and pepper to taste and dip the fish fillets in the batter until nicely coated. Put them in the oil and fry for about three to four minutes, or until golden brown. Set the fillets aside and keep warm.

Finish the fries by adding them to the (EXACTLY!) 375 degrees. Crisp them up for like two to three minutes or until nicely browned and deliciously crunchy. Transfer them into a bowl, lined with a towel and salt them to taste.

Serve Fish with Fries, Sauce and drizzled with some malt vinegar or lemon juice.