Sharon had left early to go through to Kilmalcolm, the boys were bored and annoying each other (and me) and I had to ccok fish for the tea. I really fancied fish and chips, one of my favourite meals of pre-coeliac diagnosis days, did a quick search on the Internet and came up trumps with this recipe for a battered fish that really did the business. It's great when the Internet can be used for such a quick positive outcome!
The crux of the recipe is the batter:
Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup Doves Farm GF plain white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
Wet Ingredients
2 tbsp vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 egg
1 cup water or Gluten Free Beer (I used water)
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients in another bowl then combine the wet ingredients with the dry to make a thick batter.
- Heat about 2cm vegetable oil in a deep pan (clear the area round about, just in case things get out of hand!) or use a deep fat fryer if you have one (ours was binned a few years ago) until it is hot but not smoking. I tend to go for trial and error myself, although it should probably be 180°C.
- Cut the skinned, filleted, firm white fish of your choice across into pieces about 3cm wide and dip them in the batter, ensuring they are well coated. You should probably dredge them in seasoned GF flour before they go in the batter but I didn't and it worked fine for me. You could add some chopped herbs or maybe mustard seeds or curry powder to the flour for an Asian variation.
- Fry 2 or 3 pieces at a time. The batter holds together superbly and the fish pieces should float in the oil. The reason fish fried in this way is reasonably healthy as well as tasty is that the fish is protected and effectively steamed inside the batter. You could always discard the batter if you're calorie conscious. Yeah! Right!
- Turn the fish over after a couple of minutes to get an even crispness to the batter. About 2-3 minutes should be sufficient cooking time in total, depending on the thickness of the fish. I use a cook's eye (remember that I'm no professional!) so once the batter is a nice golden-brown shade the fish will probably be done.
- Remove the fish with a slotted spoon and place in a basket or sieve lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Serve it up with chips and peas and tomato sauce and vinegar and salt but sadly no triangles of pan bread smeared with butter, unless you can stand the sight of your dinner companions tucking into this essential accompaniment to the "fish tea."
The boys really enjoyed this one too with Finn asking for it every time Mammy goes out to work early!
Cost: 8/10 (depending on the fish of course)
Preparation time: 8/10 (the batter is very straightforward)
Ease of cooking: 6/10 (you'll probably have to cook the fish in batches and keep a keen eye on the pan of oil)
Taste: 9/10
