Day: December 25, 2014

– 4x175g/6oz thick cod or haddock fillets, taken from the head end rather than the tail end of the fish
– 225g/8oz self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
– salt and freshly ground black pepper
– 300ml/10fl oz fridge-cold lager

– 6-8 large floury potatoes, such as maris piper, king edward, desiree (depending on how hungry you are)

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and preheat the dripping or oil to 120C/250F.
2. For the chips, peel the potatoes and cut into whatever size you prefer. Wash well in cold water, drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Put the potatoes into the fryer and allow them to fry gently for about 8-10 minutes, until they are soft but still pale. Check they’re cooked by piercing with a small, sharp knife. Lift out of the pan and leave to cool slightly on greaseproof paper.
3. Increase the heat of the fryer to 180C/350F.
4. Season the fish and dust lightly with flour; this enables the batter to stick to the fish.
5. To make the batter, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl and whisk in the lager to give a thick batter, adding a little extra beer if it seems over-thick. It should be the consistency of very thick double cream and should coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and thickly coat 2 of the fillets with the batter. Carefully place in the hot fat and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan, drain and sit on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, then keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining 2 fillets in the same way.
6. Once the fish is cooked, return the chips to the fryer and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and crispy. Shake off any excess fat and season with salt before serving with the crispy fish. If liked, you can serve with tinned mushy peas and bread and butter, for the authentic experience!

1/4 cup oil (olive or canola)
4 medium yellow onions, finely chopped (about 4 cups)
Pinch of salt
1 vegetable stock pot
2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt (either no-, low-, or full-fat)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (either table salt or celery salt) or to taste

Add the oil and onions along with a big pinch of salt to a large sauté pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions caramelize into a deep brown color. This may take 15 minutes or more. You may need to add a splash of water or wine towards the end if the onions begin to burn.

When the onions are done, turn off the heat and stir in the stock pot. Strip the leaves from the two sprigs of thyme and add to the onions. Let cool.

In a bowl, mix the cooled onions and the yogurt until blended. Stir in several turns of freshly ground black pepper. Taste for salt. If you are serving this with salted chips, be sure to use one for your final tasting so you can adjust accordingly.

Serve garnished with a sprig of thyme and surrounded by your dippers of choice (see below). This dip can be made a day in advance, kept well-covered in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes
The thyme and celery salt are optional, but I really like the bright, vegetal quality they offer to the dip.

The dip tastes better if it’s given several hours for the flavors to blend. It can even be made the day before with excellent results.

The onions can be caramelized a day or two in advance as well. Follow the recipe through Step 2 then place the cooled onions in a container, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

The texture of the dip calls for finely chopped onions. This means they will cook more quickly and burn more easily than larger cuts of onion when caramelizing, so keep an eye on them, stirring frequently. It also helps to keep a little water or wine nearby so the pan can be quickly deglazed and cooled if the onions start to scorch.

Potato chips are the classic dipping vehicle but fresh vegetables such as carrot and celery sticks, cut up bell pepper strips, radishes, and so on are great.