Haggis and Fish and Chips ()
I recently tried this delicious fish and chips recipe to satisfy my craving for crispy breaded and fried cod with thick-cut fries, or “chips” as they’re called in the U.K. It hit the spot and brought me back to a few of my childhood years in England. For authentic noshing, just be sure to track down some malt vinegar to spritz over your chips.
Classic British Fish & Chips
Start to finish: 1 hour and 30 minutes (This includes batter resting in the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour).
Servings: 2-4
Ingredients
For the Fish:
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided, 55 grams
7 tablespoons cornstarch, 55 grams
1 teaspoon baking powder
Sea salt, to taste
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup dark beer, cold, 79ml
1/3 cup sparkling water, cold, 79ml
4 (7-ounce) well-dried fish fillets (thick, white cod, haddock or pollock)
For the Chips:
2 pounds potatoes, peeled
1 quart (1 liter) vegetable oil or lard, for frying
Instructions
Ready your ingredients. Set aside 2 tablespoons of flour. In a large bowl, mix the remaining flour with the cornstarch and baking powder. Season lightly with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper.
Using a fork to whisk continuously, add the beer and the sparkling water to the flour mixture and continue mixing until you have a thick, smooth batter. Place the batter in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into a little less than 1/2-inch-thick slices, then slice these into 1/2-inch-wide chips. Place the chips into a colander and rinse under cold running water.
Place the washed chips into a pan of cold water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Drain carefully through a colander, then dry with paper towels. Keep in the fridge covered with paper towels until needed.
Meanwhile, lay the fish fillets on a paper towel and pat dry. Season with a little sea salt.
Heat the oil to 350 F/175 C in a deep-fat fryer or large, deep saucepan. Cook the chips a few handfuls at a time in the oil for about 2 minutes. Do not brown them. Once the chips are slightly cooked, remove them from the oil and drain.
Place the 2 tablespoons of flour reserved from the batter mix into a shallow bowl. Toss each fish fillet in the flour and shake off any excess.
Dip into the batter, coating the entire fillet.
Check that the oil temperature is still 350 F. Carefully lower each fillet into the hot oil. Fry for approximately 8 minutes, or until the batter is crisp and golden, turning the fillets from time to time with a slotted spoon.
Once cooked, remove the fillets from the hot oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with greaseproof paper and keep hot.
Heat the oil to 400 F/200 C, then cook the chips until golden and crisp, or about 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain. Season with salt.
Serve immediately with the hot fish accompanied by your favorite condiment.
Adapted from the Spruce Eats.
***
Haggis is good at any time of year, but on Burns Night each year, a gathering around the table recites this quote from Scottish poet Robert Burns before digging in:
“Some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.”
It is a colloquial message to remember to be thankful for what you have, to include the food around you. Beyond the appreciation for Burns’ famous verses, this social gathering, or “Cèilidh” is a celebration of Scottish culture on a platter. Then, heaping sides are passed around, to which I suggest you assign “neeps and tatties,” or rutabagas and potatoes, to the job. This balances the richness of the meat. The celebration usually happens on or around January 25, Burns’ birthday, but haggis is brilliant at any time of year. We’re sharing a simplified version of the dish using chicken livers and ground lamb if you don’t prefer to wrestle with lamb offal and sausage casings. This also makes it easier to envision how delicious and do-able a vegetarian variation using stuffed cabbage with beans, mushrooms and lentils could be.
Haggis
Start to finish: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
½ tablespoon butter, 5g
1 onion
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon dried thyme or fresh, chopped
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 lb ground lamb, 450g
½ lb chicken livers, 225g
1 cup stock, 240ml
4 oz steel-cut oats, 115g
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C.
Warm the butter in a pan. Finely dice the onion and cook over medium heat in the butter until softened, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, take any fatty of tough pieces off the chicken livers and roughly chop.
Add the spices to the onion and cook a minute, then add the lamb and chicken livers.
Brown the meat then once it is all cooked, add the stock and cover. Allow to simmer for around 20 minutes.
Then add the oats, mix well and transfer to an oven dish (unless you started with a dish that can transfer).
Cover the dish and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve! And if you enjoy a good whiskey apéritif or digestif, that would be quite Scottish of you.
Adapted from Caroline’s Cooking.
