Classic Hake & Chips

Ingredients

• 800 g hake fillets, skinless
• 1 kg potatoes, cut into thick chips
• 1 cup cake flour
• 330 ml ice-cold soda water
• 1 L sunflower oil for deep frying
• 1 lemon
• for 4 mayonnaise, gherkins and capers for tartare
• to taste salt and vinegar

Method

1. 1

   Par-boil the chips 6 minutes, drain and steam-dry. Fry at 160 °C until pale, drain, then fry again at 190 °C until golden.

2. 2

   Whisk the flour, a pinch of salt and the soda water into a thin batter. Do not overmix.

3. 3

   Pat the hake dry, dust in flour, dip in batter and lower into 180 °C oil.

4. 4

   Fry 5–6 minutes until the batter is crisp and deep gold. Drain on paper.

5. 5

   Stir chopped gherkins, capers and lemon juice into the mayonnaise for tartare.

6. 6

   Serve piping hot with salt, vinegar, tartare and lemon.