Recipe photograph MIKE ENGLISH | Shoot director FREDDIE STEWART | Food stylist ELLIE JARVIS | Stylist FAYE WEARS
4 fillets haddock (500g), each cut into
3 pieces
50ml olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground white pepper, plus a pinch
5 garlic cloves, bashed
200g plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
For the chips
1 kg medium potatoes, sliced into
2cm-wide chips vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 tsp paprika
For the tahini sauce
50g tahini
1 lemon, juiced, plus extra wedges to serve
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely grated small handful of chopped parsley
1 Toss the haddock with the olive oil, cumin, white pepper, garlic and 1 tsp salt. Chill for 4 hrs or overnight.
2 About 45 mins before cooking the fish, make the chips and tahini sauce. For the sauce, mix the tahini, lemon juice and garlic until well combined. Stir in 3-4 tbsp cold water until smooth and creamy. Mix in the parsley and keep chilled until needed.
3 For the chips, rinse the potatoes, then soak in ice-cold water for 15 mins. Drain well, then dry the potatoes thoroughly. Fill a saucepan half-full with vegetable oil and heat to 140C, or use a deep-fat fryer. If you don’t have a temperature probe, test the oil by dropping in a cube of bread – it’s hot enough when it turns brown in around 45 seconds. Fry the chips until cooked through, 6-8 mins.
4 Remove the chips to a wire rack lined with kitchen paper and leave to drain. Heat the oil to 180C – it’s hot enough when a cube of bread turns brown within 15 seconds – then cook the chips for 4-5 mins more until crisp and golden. Remove to a wire rack lined with fresh kitchen paper, then tip into a bowl and season with 1 /2 tsp salt and the paprika.
5 Put the flour and cornflour in a bowl and season well with salt and a pinch of white pepper. Turn the fish pieces in the mixture, one by one, until completely coated.
6 Fry for 4-6 mins, with the oil still at 180C, until golden and crisp. You may need to do this in batches, keeping the cooked fish warm in a low oven as you go. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.