5 star FISH & CHIPS 2014

Fish and Chips are a favorite British ‘fast food’.

They are delicious wrapped in newsprint (believed to give them a special flavor), very filling and one of our favorite meals when we travel in England.

One visit we visited four to five 'chippies' till we found our favorite right where we were staying!

The favorite, traditional accompaniment is ‘mushy peas’ but I omit this.

Over there when I order fish and chips I get Cod...here I favor Tilapia first for this dish.  Swai Basa too does a good job so it comes in second.  

The fish has to be a firm, white fish.

Originally beef fat and lard were used but now veggie oils are used for frying.

Thick round chips absorb less oil so that’s what I make.

“Compared to other take-away foods Fish and chips have: 9.42 grams of fat per 100 grams. The average pizza has 11, Big Mac meal with medium fries has 12.1, Whopper meal with medium fries has 14.5, chicken korma 15.5 and doner kebab 16.2.

Fish and chips have 595 calories in the average portion - an average pizza has 871, Big Mac meal with medium fries has 888, Whopper meal with medium fries has 892, chicken korma 910 and doner kebab 924.

Statistics courtesy of Seafish UK.”

To make it into my 5 star collection of recipes I had to work on this recipe over the years till it suited our family’s tastes.

My recipe is a combination of three tried and tested ones by international chefs:  Alton Brown, Jamie Oliver and Tyler.

I have to improve it with  Indian flavor to it so there are additions to their recipes.

Ingredients

3-4 large Russet potatoes ( potatoes should be the floury kind not waxy)

Kosher salt (rock salt)

1 ½ lbs fish fillets cut into strips (or I quarter each fillet.)

2 cups flour (I use all purpose)

1 egg

Salt and pepper

Haldi, chilli powder.

Dark beer/club soda.

Dash of Old Bay seasoning.

2-3 tbsps cornstarch/rice flour for dredging fish.   

Safflower/sunflower oil for frying.

(some oils leave the fish and potatoes limp and you will have to re-fry.)

In blender/food processor mix flour, egg, beer/soda, salt (half the amount you would normally add), pepper, chilli powder, Old Bay, to a very smooth dipping batter consistency thick enough to coat fish but not as thick as pancake batter.

Refrigerate batter for 15 mins to one hr.

Cut potatoes into thick circles or thick finger chips (I prefer the latter but made the round ones for this 'take').

Soak in water for 10 mins.  Drain well.

Rinse fillets, drain well.

Rub with 1 level  tsp haldi, 11/2 tsp salt and 1-2 tsps chilli powder.

(Rubbing with haldi/turmeric eliminates odor and the chilli powder and salt impart flavor)

Heat oil to 325 (medium hot)

Fry  potato chips till half done.  Remove and drain.

(English chef Jamie Oliver suggests boiling them till done but NOT overdone instead and draining them.  I haven’t tried this but will next time.)

Heat oil to 350 (hot but not smoking) in a kadai or skillet.

A good test as always is to put in a drop of batter and see if it comes to the surface of the oil right away.

(This is deep fried so oil must be at least one inch or more.  Make sure it will not bubble over sides when fish/chips are added)

Roll fillets in cornflour or rice flour.  ( I omit this step)

Dip in batter.

Deep fry in small batches till deep golden brown.

Drain.

Re-fry potato chips/fingers in this oil till the same color as the fish.

Sprinkle with kosher salt while hot.

Serve hot with malt vinegar or catsup (ketchup mixed with vinegar).

I love the way the batter is not soggy/oily, when done properly and the fish is perfectly cooked.

TIPS

If your fish seems to go limp while you do the potatoes, either put them in the oven to crisp them up (I use the toaster oven and it comes out great) or re-fry them.

Left over batter?

No problem.

Coat onion slices or shrimp and deep fry...gives the fish and chips a new twist.

From Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/fish-chips-and-mushy-peas

To make your mushy peas, put the butter in a pan with the peas and the chopped mint. Put a lid on top and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. You can either mush the peas up in a food processor, or you can mash them by hand until they are stodgy, thick and perfect for dipping your fish into. Keep them warm while you cook your fish and chips.

Watermelon Picker Upper

Watermelon Picker Upper (For Thirst Quenchers Recipe Challenge).

My road to this recipe:

40 years ago when I was eight months pregnant and feeling tired a friend came over with a huge watermelon.  She cut it, crushed it and coaxed me to have a glass of the juice.  In half an hour I started feeling great.  Since then this juice has become a summer favorite and over the years I’ve added ginger and lime juice to the watermelon juice. Later the lime juice became a combination of lime and lemon juice as that combo enhances the taste.

So here’s the simple recipe: 

For 2 gallons juice:

Peel and blend a 3” piece of ginger with ½ cup water.  Strain.

(The ginger in the USA is BIG so I got an 8 oz glass of juice).

Squeeze the juice of two lemons and two limes.  Strain.

Cut and cube watermelon, collecting all the juice as you do this ‘juicy’ job.  (I use  watermelon with seeds just to make my life more difficult and because I believe it's sweeter).

Blend well in batches:  2 cups watermelon cubes with 1 cup cold water (watermelon has such a high water content it satisfies the 75% H2O requirement for this challenge).

Strain (just to make sure no seeds remain).  

Assembly:

In large bowl/pitcher:  For every 8 oz. glass of watermelon juice add one tsp. of lime/lemon juice, one tsp. of ginger juice, sugar if required. 

Stir taste and add more ginger or lime/lemon juice if required (which is why I made a glass each of these ingredients).

Add the natural watermelon juice you collected while prepping it (if you haven’t drunk it already!)

Add a pinch of salt per each 8 oz glass OR place 2 Tbsps lime juice in a bowl and some salt in a plate.  Dip rim of serving glass in lime juice then in salt before filling (as for margaritas).

If juice is for a crowd, pour half of your juice into a serving pitcher/jug, and freeze it.

If its for a small group fill glasses 1/3 of the way and freeze.

Chill the rest of the juice at least three hours and fill pitcher/glasses with well chilled juice before serving.

This gives everyone  a very cold drink without weakening the flavor of the juice by adding ice. 

(It was 95 degrees F here when I made this, so the challenge was to find ways to serve it really cold).

If there’s no place in the refrigerator for such a large jug or a tray of glasses, freeze half the juice in ice cube trays and then add the cubes to the pitcher before serving.

If the juice stands for a while there is separation of sediment and water so stir from time to time.

Serve with a sprig of mint or a slice of lime or lemon or just ‘as is’.

Optional additions instead of water:  plain soda, flavored water, apple cider.

(I like it with plain water and no sugar.)

Health benefits:  

Addition of ginger and lime/lemon juice helps with heat related symptoms of dizziness, nausea, sun stroke etc.

Additional health benefits of watermelon:  natural coolant, re-hydrating and anti-inflammatory agent ( prevents inflammation that leads to arthritis, asthma, colon cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetes), and it's an anti-oxidant (has lycopene).

NOTE:  If you’re a diabetic (like I am now) please test 2 hours after having the juice to check your sugar level.  This helps define the amount of the juice you can drink.

(I feel energized and full for a long time after this juice, which is a double blessing for a diabetic.)

Enjoy!

The story of the watermelon mask can be found here:

Tempted by a 'thirst quenchers' contest i started looking for a unique way to present my ordinary watermelon juice and came up with an idea for doing it in the watermelon itself and finding a way to attach a faucet to it.

Imagine my disappointment when I found it has been done before...just when I started thinking I was brilliant!

(story of my life!)

Here's the best explanation for those who want to do it because though I bought the faucet and the tub after reading the possibility of chemical reactions with the juice, I decided not to go ahead with it.

Please read all comments on this site and make sure you are using safe products for this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tap-a-Watermelon-or-How-to-Make-a-Watermelon-Keg/

Second brilliant idea:  carve the front of the watermelon as I had seen other watermelon carvings on cruises to make it exceptional.

That went by the wayside too as though I found a great tiger stencil and the juice was supposed to pour out of the mouth (and it would have been great), when I started tracing the tiger I found my 64 year old hand could not carry out the ideas in my still young brain.  I could not hold my hand steady long enough and when I did it started cramping with strain.

Ideas for carvings:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccae/75-awesome-watermelon-carvings

When things get tough the tough go shopping!

I returned with a pitcher that would hold the juice and called it a day.  The next morning ( a time when my head is clearest) drew a face on a mask and did the 'make-up', carved out the area under the mouth for the faucet.  Lady Luck finally approved of this idea and allowed the mask to stand up in front of the pitcher with no additional work!

"Act Your Age," I heard her whisper sternly.  "No scratch that.  THINK your age!"

Wisely spreading a plastic sheet on a table in the garage I prepped my watermelon there and then moved everything into the kitchen for the final stages which were also messy and sticky and had the ants coming to the party before the guests!

Finally exhausted I retired to recuperate with guess what?  A huge glass of watermelon juice of course!

I hope you enjoyed the story and that you'll remember to drink watermelon juice all summer.

Additional Facts:

Watermelon is not a fruit.  It's belongs to the squash family and some people call it a veggie while others insist it is a berry.

It is grown in 96 countries around the world.

In China and Japan you are a great guest if you bring a watermelon.

The seeds and the rind are also edible (the former is a good thing as I was worrying about one or two getting blended with the fruit.)

LITE CHERRY TRIFLE

Shortcut Lite Cherry Trifle

No cherries?  No fear!
Comes out great with strawberries, mangoes and pineapple.
As mangoes have so much pulp/juice, squeeze one mango and use over cake.  Omit cooking custard for this unless you want an additional layer of richness.

Over the years my trifle has been adapted for those who don't eat eggs even in desserts.  Using non-dairy whipped cream has made it lighter for those who avoid artery clogging foods.

I usually make this version of trifle with strawberries but this year cherries have flooded the market and are so sweet I wanted to do something special with them.

As I researched recipes on the Internet I found a cake idea I liked here:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/cherry-cake-pudding/

Startled by the similarity of this recipe to my original one (great minds think alike), I started building on her idea and assembled my own version.  Meditating on this recipe brought to mind this favorite combo:
Cherries+chocolate+almonds.

1 cup fresh dark cherries, split and pitted (Done while watching TV with towel over my lap as the juice stains.  I personally don't care for canned fruit.)
1 Tbsp cornflour
1-2 tsps lemon juice
1 box chocolate cake mix. (I used a mix as a shortcut.)
1/2 cup almond paste (I got this in a can, SOLO brand in a regular grocery store and was surprised at the good quality of the product.  If you can't get this grind blanched almonds with a little sugar/Splenda to taste).
Almond essence.
6 pkts Splenda/sugar substitue
Non dairy whipped cream/fresh whipped cream.

1. Compote.

Add two cups water to cherries and simmer with Splenda till soft but not mushy.
Strain cherries, return liquid to stove with 1-2 Tbsps cherries.
Dilute cornflour in 1/2 cup water...make sure it is very smooth.
Add to simmering liquid and stir till thickens (1-2 mins).
This should not get too thick; consistency should be like pancake/dosa batter.
If it gets too thick, add some more water.
Add two drops almond essence.
Add lemon juice, stir and set aside.
This is not a thick jam/jelly compote.

2.  Cake

Heat oven to 350 (according to instructions on cake box).
Prepare cake mix.  (I added 3 Tbsps THICK yogurt instead of eggs.)
After batter is ready I added cherries and stirred, making sure cake batter has the right consistency.  (It should as the cherries have some liquid.  If it doesn't have the right consistency, add a little water but don't overdo.)
Pour into greased, floured pan and bake as directed.
Test doneness before removing.  Cool.
(Baking this in a foil pan or glass dish will make it easier to assemble and serve in the same dish.  I made individual servings for Bridge.)

3.  Assembly

Spread almond paste on cake.
Pour compote over it.
Just before serving, add whipped cream. (I've added a little but that's a personal preference.)
Can be served at room temperature or cold.

Tastes good with vanilla ice-cream too.

Optional:  you could add a tablespoon of brandy over the cake if you like the flavor.

My Bridge guests couldn't believe this was a 'lite/diabetic and cholesterol friendly' dessert (depending on how much you eat of course).  As one friend said, "This is SUPER!"

For Strawberry Trifle:  To compote add all strawberries and half a cup strawberry jam (while cooking) and vanilla essence.
Assemble:  Plain cake/compote/whipped cream.