“Here’s how to make beer-batteredfish and chips at home that you’dnever guess were gluten-free. In fact,you’d never guess they are homemadeeither. If your local chippydoesn’t have a separate fryer forgluten-free food, then it’s about timeyou made it at home.”
INGREDIENTS
• 1.5ltr/2½pt vegetable oil
• 4 medium potatoes
• 50g/2oz gluten-free plain flour
• 2 white fish fillets, skinless(I recommend cod or haddock)
For the batter
• 100g/4oz gluten-free plain flour
• 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 150ml/¼pt gluten-free beer orcarbonated water
1. Heat the oil in a deep, heavybased saucepan over a medium heat for about 15 minutes or until it reaches 170°C, making sure the pan is not more than half full, as the oil will bubble up when cooking. Test the temperature with a cooking thermometer or by using the wooden spoon-handle test (see tips that follow).
2. While the oil is heating,combine the dry ingredients for your batter in a large mixing bowl. Give it a mix and set aside.
3. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1cm/½in-thick chips then pat dry with some kitchen paper. They need to be as dry as possible before frying to get them nice and crisp. Place to one side.
4. Get a large plate and spread the flour out on it. Put your fish fillets on the plate and lightly coat all over with flour.
5. Once your oil is hot, add your chips and cook for 8 minutes, then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack set over a baking tray to drain.
6. Check your oil is still at 170°C, then add your glutenfree beer or carbonated water to the dry batter ingredients and whisk until consistent (it’s important not to add this any sooner or it will lose its fizz).
7. Dredge your fish fillets in the batter mixture, then carefully lower each fillet, one at a time, into the oil. Cook for 7-8 minutes until the batter is golden and crispy, bearing in mind that using carbonated water makes it a little lighter in colour. Remove from the oil and place on the wire rack set over a baking tray to drain.
8. Lastly, add your chips back into the hot oil and cook for around 3-4 minutes more until golden. Leave to drain once more on the wire rack before serving the fish and chips with tartare sauce and mushy peas.
“Long fillets of white fish work best here instead of smaller, chunky fillets, which are more prone to flaking apart when you pick them up and harder to safely lower into hot oil. You can also use this batter to make your own homemade onion rings.”
“You might be surprised to learn that I rarely use a wooden spoon when I’m baking (I use a silicone spatula for that). Instead, I use my humble wooden spoon to check the temperature of my oil for deep-frying. Simply pop the handle into the oil for 3-4 seconds – if you see bubbles gently forming around it then it’s ready to fry. The wooden spoon-handle test has never letme down yet.”