Name: Flathead with crushed peas
Yield: 4

Flathead with crushed peas

For simple fish and chips use the best and freshest fish you can find. Malt vinegar and plenty of lemon give it the perfect kick.

Ingredients

200 gm coarse breadcrumbs from day-old sourdough bread

2 tbsp coarse polenta

500 gm skinless flathead fillets, cut into 6cm pieces

Seasoned plain flour, for dusting

3 eggs lightly whisked with 2 tbsp milk Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil, for shallow-frying

Malt vinegar and lemon wedges, to serve

Oven-roasted chips

700 gm (about 3 large) sebago potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1.5cm-thick chips

50 ml olive oil

2 tbsp rosemary

Crushed peas

300 gm frozen peas

40 gm butter, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp crème fraîche

Finely grated rind and juice of ½ lemon

2 tbsp coarsely chopped mint

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 200C. For chips, toss potatoes, oil and rosemary in a bowl to coat, season well with sea salt and pepper and transfer to two trays lined with baking paper. Roast, shaking trays occasionally, until golden and crisp (20 minutes).

2.Meanwhile, for crushed peas, blanch peas in boiling salted water until bright green (1 minute; see notes). Drain, return to pan, add butter, crème fraîche, and lemon rind and juice, and crush with a fork. Season to taste. Add mint just before serving.

3.Reduce oven to 160C. Heat about 5cm oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. Combine breadcrumbs and polenta in a shallow dish. Dip fish in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing so they stick and shaking off excess. Fry in batches until golden and just cooked (4-5 minutes). Drain on paper towels, season with salt, and keep warm in oven while frying remaining fish. Serve hot with crushed peas, chips, vinegar and lemon.

To blanch an ingredient, cook it briefly in boiling water, then drain. To refresh it, plunge it in a large bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process, then drain it.
Notes

Styling by Alice Storey

Styling by Emma Knowles

Ingredients

Method

Main

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