Beer battered fish and triple cooked chips

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large potatoes peeled and sliced into large fingers

Vegetable oil for frying

400 g plain flour and 30g rice flour (kept in the freezer)

500 ml very cold golden ale

Salt and pepper to taste

4 pieces of hake  (around 200 g each, skin off)

Ingredients

Peel potatoes and cut into large fingers. Place in a bowl and rinse under cold water until it runs clear.

Cook in a gently simmering pan of lightly salted water until potatoes are soft to the touch but not cooked all the way through, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the potatoes, place on a rack to drain, and cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a deep-bottomed pan to 130 degrees Celsius. (Cooking in a pan rather than using a deep fat fryer allows for better temperature control.)

Fry the chips in your pan in batches for around 7 minutes each. You want a light crust to form, but the chips should gain no colour. Carefully remove, place on a rack, and cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil to 185 degrees, ensure that there are no leftover pieces of potato — these will burn and alter the flavour of the oil. Heat a separate pan with oil for the fish, also to 185 degrees.

When the chips are cool and both pans of oil have reached 185 degrees, it’s time to make the batter. Remove the flour from the freezer and lightly whisk in the cold beer. Don’t mix too vigorously, and don’t worry about any small lumps.

Pat the fish fillets with a paper kitchen towel, dust with flour, and season with salt and pepper.

Dip the fish into the batter and then carefully lower it into the fresh hot oil. Using a spatula, hold the fish in place for a few seconds so the batter starts to crisp, then let go. This stops the fish from sinking and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook no more than two pieces at a time, as the fryer will become overcrowded, and the temperature of the oil might drop. Cook for around 5 minutes, until the fillets are golden brown.

Fry the potatoes in the chip pan, also in batches and also for around 5 minutes until crisp and golden.

Remove fish fillets and chips using a slotted spoon, holding above the frier for a moment to allow excess oil to drip off. Serve immediately with a lemon wedge, perhaps a little something green on the side, but definitely a glass of your favourite white wine from Leopard's Leap!