A delicious meal using frozen fish sent to me by Wusata Exports. The fish is the product of sustainable fishing and I must say that once defrosted it was as delicious and luscious as it would have been if cooked having been freshly caught.
Ingredients (serves 6)
- 6 fillets of Pacific hake
- Vegetable oil and extra virgin olive oil for frying
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- Salt and pepper to season
For the batter
- 330ml lager
- 175g plain flour
- 65g cornflour
- 50g baking powder
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 200ml passata
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze
- 1 bay leaf
- A pinch of chilli flakes
For the potato wedges
- 1kg Maris Piper potatoes cut in wedges
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp salt flakes
- 25g grated parmesan
For the peas
- 500g frozen garden peas
- 1 bay leaf
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vegetable bouillon
Method
Fully defrost the fish fillets and leave whole or cut. Drain and pat dry.
For the batter, mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir. Add the lager stirring all the time. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour.
Break up the dried rosemary and salt flakes in a spice grinder. Put in a bowl. Add the parmesan and keep to the side.
To make the tomato ketchup, bring a sauteing pan to a high heat and add the olive oil. Next add the tinned tomatoes and passata. Add the balsamic glaze, bay leaf, chilli flakes and pepper. Stir, bring to the boil, lower the heat and cook slowly until thickened, approx. 30 minutes. Leave to cool and blitz in a blender.
Preheat the oven to 210C fan. Chop the potatoes into wedges and steam until cooked but retaining their shape, approx. 10-15 minutes. Drain and lay out on a large oven tray to dry. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with half the salt/rosemary/parmesan mix.
Bake the potatoes for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 190C fan and continue cooking until golden, approx.. 30-35 minutes.
Put the peas, put bouillon, butter and bay leaf in a sauteing pan. Add 50ml water, cover and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When ready to fry the fish, prepare a tray with the flour, salt and pepper. Pat the fish fillets to totally dry and dust in the flour.
Bring the oil to a high heat (170 C). Dip the flour dusted fish fillets into the batter and drop into the hot oil. Cook for a few minutes until the batter is golden brown. Drain on some kitchen paper.
Serve the fish on top of the potatoes, sprinkled with the remaining salt/rosemary/cheese mix.