100 day food story day 3 - Fish and Chip Buttie.

Today my food musings take me back a number of years to a summer when I was in college.

My friend Mary O' Sullivan and myself headed off to Morecambe in Lancashire England to work for the summer. Her uncle was a Parish Priest there and he had secured jobs for us in Pontin's Holiday Camp as nursery nurses. This was my first time outside Ireland and  I was bursting with excitement. 

I was not really into food then but being a daughter of a farmer and butcher, my Mum was a great cook, so we tended to have a lot of meat and vegetables from local farmers. 
Good wholesome food.... 

We stayed in the parochial house with Mary's uncle before we started work. My interest was piqued one evening when it was announced that we were having ‘Chip Butties’ for tea - I had never heard of such a delicacy - and we were dispatched to the chip shop to get 3 bags of chips. On our return there was a bit of palaver made about assembling these chip butties. I stood with my eyes out on stalks to witness this culinary delight being created. Yes you have guessed correctly - 2 slices of  buttered white bread with hot chips between them. To say I was amused is an understatement but as I was staying in a Parish Priest's house my usual ‘flowery language’ which would normally come out in a torrent , had to remain behind my sealed lips.  So less of musings over ‘Chip Butties’ and back to the task in hand.

Trisha Fish & Chip ‘Buttie’ with minted peas & my special tartare sauce.

Trisha Fish & Chip ‘Buttie’ with minted peas & my special tartare sauce.
Serves 1.

Ingredients. 
1 piece of skinned cod , cut into 3 fingers.
1 tablespoon flour. 
1 beaten egg.
50 grams of breadcrumbs ( I like to use Panko crumbs, they are lovely and crispy. Available in Dunne's , very handy store-cupboard ingredients)
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil.
2 slices of sourdough, lightly toasted.
50 grams of peas plus 3 sprigs of mint.
2 tablespoons cream. 
2 rooster potatoes peeled and cut into chips.
2 tablespoons mayonnaise,
1 teaspoon of chopped capers.
1 chopped gherkin.
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and diced.
1 chopped spring onion.
A pinch of smoked paprika.
Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon ( peel the remaining and use for decoration)
Salt &and pepper 


Method.

1. Start with the tartare sauce- tip the mayonnaise in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of cream, chopped capers, gherkins, egg, spring onion, paprika and lemon rind. Season and set aside.
2. Bring 3 tablespoons of water to the boil, add in the peas and mint and cook for 5 minutes. Drain, add the other tablespoon of cream, season and blitz with stick blender.
3. Set up a little assembly line- 3 bowls with the flour, egg and breadcrumbs ( just use regular ones if you haven’t had a chance to get the Panko crumbs) Dip the fish fingers first in flour, then into the beaten egg and lastly into the crumbs. Make sure they are well coated.
4. Heat the deep fryer , when it reaches 190 cook the chips, give them a good shake.
5. Heat 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil in a pan. Wait until it is quiet hot and add the 3 fish fingers. Once they are coloured on one side, flip over and turn heat down. They will take about 4-5 minutes to cook. You want them to nice and crispy.

To Assemble 
Put the 2 slices of lightly toasted sourdough on a plate. Heat the pea purée in the microwave for 2 minutes and spread on one piece of bread. Top with the hot fish fingers. Re-plunge the chips, drain and season. Spread the second slice of sourdough with  a smear of tartare  sauce and place the chips on top. Serve with extra tartare sauce on the side and a piece of lemon.

Panko breadcrumbs available in Dunne's Stores and other grocery stores.