Fish And Chips

Fish and chips; not the most thrifty meal if you go to the local chipper, nor is it the most healthy either. Don’t get me wrong, there is a certain allure of a brown paper bag laden with piping hot chips, salt and vinegar every now and again. If you’re feeding a family that sort of meal is saved for a treat.

This meal is a healthier,  version of classic fish and chips. It makes the most of cheap cuts of white fish that you can pick up for far less than cod or haddock in your fishmonger or in the supermarket. For bonus points I’ve sneakily found a way to hide some veg in the dish.

Fish And Chips (Serves a family of 5)

Ingredients

• 7 medium potatoes, peeled
• 4 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 green peppers
• 1 large handful of fresh green herbs of your choice (I used chives and parsley)
• 300g white fish chunks (a packet of fish mix is absolutely fine)
• 200g fresh tomatoes to serve

Method

Preheat a fan oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with tin foil (to save on the washing up).

Chop the potatoes into small cubes about 2cm in diameter. There’s no need to be too precise, this just helps the spuds to cook quicker and get crunchy on the outside. Dry off the potato cubes with a bit of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel before pouring 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil on the baking tray and tossing cubed potatoes in the oil until they are completely covered. Bake in the oven for 30 mins, turn the potato cubes over half way through cooking.

I use a mini-chopper for the next part, but if you have a knife you’ll need to finely chop the garlic, peppers and green herbs together. If you have a mini-chopper, lash the lot into the jug and blend with the sunflower oil. Ensure that your fish has no skin left on it and then toss the fish chunks in the green paste you’ve made in the chopper.

Remove the roasted potato cubes from the oven and sprinkle the fish chunks evenly on top. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with some fresh chopped tomatoes and a herb salad if you like, although tomato relish would go just as well.