Masterclass Text Only: Make Your Home Cooking Easier - James Martin

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FISH AND CHIPS

      If I were ever on Mastermind then I would choose this dish as my specialist subject! Over the years, I’ve sampled good and bad. I’ve travelled miles to get my hands on that crisp batter and pure white flesh, and once drove my team on a 500-mile round trip to prove that the best fish and chips were from my home county of Yorkshire. So this batter recipe is one that has been brought to you after eating many hundreds of fish and pounding thousands of miles, look after it and enjoy!

      SERVES 4

      1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable oil, for deep-frying

      4 large peeled potatoes (about 1.5kg/3lb 4oz)

      4 x 175g (6oz) fillets of cod, haddock or pollack, pin bones removed

      Salt

      FOR THE BATTER

      225g (8oz) self-raising flour

      1 tsp salt

      15g (½oz) fresh yeast or 20g (¾oz) dried yeast

      2 tsp cider or white wine vinegar

      1 tsp caster sugar

      200ml (7fl oz) beer

      1. To make the batter, sift the flour and salt into a bowl and add the yeast, vinegar and sugar, then whisk in the beer and, once combined, set aside for 45 minutes to 1 hour to bubble up.

      2. If using a deep-fat fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 95°C (200°F). Alternatively, fill a deep, heavy-based saucepan to one-third with oil and use a sugar thermometer to check that it has reached the correct temperature. (Take great care if using a saucepan: always watch over it and never fill it beyond more than a third as the hot fat may bubble up when the food is added.)

      3. Trim the potatoes into rectangles, cut into slices 1cm (½in) thick, then cut again to give chips that are 1cm (½in) wide. Place the chips in the deep-fat fryer or saucepan and cook for 10 minutes. (It is very important to pre-cook them in this way to ensure that they are cooked through before serving. Frying the chips at this temperature will blanch them without browning.)

      4. Check the chips are tender using the point of a knife, then remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. They can be left to cool on greaseproof paper and even chilled before finishing.

      5. Preheat the oil in the fryer or pan to 190°C (375°F). Immerse the fish fillets in the batter, then carefully lower into the hot oil and cook for 3–4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper, then reheat the oil to cook the chips.

      6. Lower the chips into the oil. These will now take only 2–3 minutes to become golden brown and crispy. Shake off any excess fat, or drain on kitchen paper, and sprinkle with salt before serving with the fish.

      This is one of the classic butter sauces; the trick is the get the pan nice and hot before adding the butter. Once the butter is brown, pull the pan off the heat, add the rest of the ingredients and serve straight away. This sauce can be served with all manner of fish and seafood, from salmon and trout to hake and prawns. I’ve chosen to put it with skate wings, which are attractive and a bit different to serve up to your guests.

      SERVES 2

      2 x 225g (8oz) skate wings, skinned

      FOR THE COOKING LIQUOR

      1 onion, peeled and chopped into 2cm (¾ in) pieces

      2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped into 2cm (¾ in) pieces

      250ml (9fl oz) white wine

      75ml (3fl oz) white wine vinegar

      2 bay leaves

      10 black peppercorns

      Pinch of salt

      FOR THE BLACK CAPER BUTTER

      100g (3½oz) butter

      25g (1oz) capers, drained and rinsed

      50ml (2fl oz) red wine vinegar

      2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

      1. Place all the ingredients for the cooking liquor in a large saucepan, pour in 1.2 litres (2 pints) of water, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

      2. Place the skate wings in the pan and continue to simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to cook the fish. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift the skate from the pan, then drain on kitchen paper and place on a plate in a warm oven while you make the black caper butter.

      3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a high heat, allowing it to foam and turn brown. Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients. Let the mixture fizz in the pan for a few seconds and then spoon over the skate and serve straight away.

      Produced from the stigma of the crocus flower, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. It takes some 70,000 flowers to make just half a kilo in weight of finished saffron. It’s used in Biryani, Pilaf and many desserts, but is perhaps best known for its use in the French bouillabaisse and Spanish paella. In the UK, it’s used in Cornish saffron cake. This recipe makes a light fish supper and the addition of saffron to the poaching liquid gives it a nice flavour, but be careful because too much will overpower everything else.

      SERVES 4

      500ml (18fl oz) milk

      2 good pinches of saffron

      4 x 150g (5oz) natural smoked haddock fillets, pin bones and skin removed

      400g (14oz) new potatoes, unpeeled

      50ml (2fl oz) double cream

      2 tbsp chopped chives

      4 tsp chopped dill

      20 asparagus spears, woody ends snapped off

      25g (1oz) unsalted butter

      Salt and black pepper

      1. Pour the milk into a roasting tin, add the saffron and place over a low heat to gently warm through and allow the flavour of the spice to infuse the milk. Add the haddock fillets and cook over a gentle heat for 3–4 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave the fish to sit in the milk until required.

      2. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan of salted water and cook for 20 minutes or until tender, then drain. While the potatoes are still warm, add the double cream and, with a fork, crush the potatoes but without mashing them, then mix in the chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

      3. Bring another saucepan of salted water to the boil, plunge the asparagus in and cook for 2 minutes or until tender, then drain, add the butter and arrange 5 spears on each plate. Gently warm the haddock in the milk, place a spoonful of potatoes next to the asparagus, then lift the haddock from the milk, place a fillet on top of each portion of potatoes and serve.

      A classic butter sauce is one of those recipes that, once you’ve mastered, you will use again and again. Yes, there’s a shed-load of butter, but it’s the richness that makes it go so well with all types of seafood. I remember I once spent two weeks just making this sauce over and over in the restaurant I was working in at the time. It was worth all that practice, as I use the same method even now. The sauce can be flavoured with all manner of ingredients from tomato to orange, just change the flavour to suit yourself.

      SERVES 4–6

      300ml (11fl oz) milk

      1 x 200g (7oz) natural smoked haddock fillet

      1 x 225g (8oz) salmon fillet

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