Fish and horopito chips

Michael Craig

Another Kiwi classic is good old fish’n’chips. Our Mum makes the yummiest batter. She says the trick is really cold, bubbly water, love and turmeric. We use whatever fish is freshest — this week we picked tarakihi. You can use a thermometer to check the oil temperature but we were taught to put a chopstick in the oil and if little Champagne-like bubbles rise up the oil is ready. We have our fish with a side of oven-baked chips coated in a horopito seasoning. If you can’t find this, use dried thyme and oregano instead.

Ingredients

4 large	Agria potatoes (Main)
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 Tbsp	Horopito seasoning
1 cup	Self raising flour
1 tsp	Turmeric
1 tsp	Salt
¾ cup	Sparkling water, ice-cold
1 serving	Flour, for dusting
4 fillets	Tarakihi (Main)
1 bottle	Oil, for deep frying

Tartare sauce

½ cup	Mayonnaise
1	Lemon, juice and rind
2 Tbsp	Capers, chopped
2	Gerkin, chopped
2 Tbsp	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a roasting dish with baking paper. Cut potatoes into large matchsticks for the chips, coat in olive oil and horopito seasoning.
2. Place potatoes in roasting tray and cook for 30 minutes or until golden and crunchy, turning once during cooking.
3. For batter, mix together flour, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Make a well in middle and quickly mix in ice-cold sparkling water until just combined. It is okay to have a lumpy mix.
4. Lightly coat fish in flour and dip into batter mix. Heat oil to 170C in a deep fryer or in a deep pan on stove top. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes until golden on both sides and cooked through. Place on a drip tray lined with paper towels to drain.
5. To make tartare sauce, mix together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve fish and chips with tartare sauce.

See more of Karena and Kasey's classic Kiwi recipes

• Lamb chops with mint sauce and crushed peas
• Hazelnut and chocolate pavlova roll