Wednesday Wind-down: Fish, chips, mushy peas

fish-and-chips-and-mushy-peas1Who ever thought that Ash Wednesday would take on a commercial edge? No mind, whether you’re observant or not, you may as well get some healthy fish while it’s on special offer.

Fish, chips, and minted mushy peas is an incredibly easy dinner to make and it’s utterly delicious. If you oven-cook the chips in olive oil, they’re not so unhealthy, so you won’t feel too guilty having just scoffed your way through bags of flour on Pancake Tuesday. This recipe serves four.

Home Made Chips

Ingredients

  • 8 potatoes, peeled
  • Olive oil
  • Coarsely ground salt and pepper
  • Paprika (optional)

Method

  • Peel the potatoes and chop them into big chips
  • Bring them to the boil in cold salted water, then drain them and tip them into a bowl
  • Coat them with olive oil
  • Add your seasoning: coarsely ground salt and pepper works well, with a sprinkle of paprika
  • Spread the chips evenly on a baking tray and cook in a pre-heated hot oven (around 200 °C) for about 25 minutes. Check them: they should be light brown and a little bit crunchy when you serve them.

Fish

Ingredients

  • Four white fish fillets
  • Enough plain flour to dust the fish, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • About 200g of breadcrumbs (or enough to cover the fish)

Method

  • Dip the fish in the flour, then the beaten egg, and then cover in breadcrumbs
  • About five minutes before the chips are ready, shallow fry the fish, turning once

Minted Peas

Ingredients

  • About 300g of frozen peas
  • A big handful of fresh mint, chopped, or one and a half teaspoons of dried mint
  • A dollop of creme fraiche

Method

  • While the fish is cooking, boil the frozen peas in water for about three minutes
  • Drain the peas, and blend them with the mint and creme fraiche until they are a puree

Serve

  • Serve the fish and chips with the mushy peas in the centre and a lemon wedge on the side