Potato Battered Fish and Chips

Chef Maxime Bilet

“One of the simplest ways to use a microplane – and one of my favorite ways – is to grate fresh citrus over a dish just as it finishes cooking. The aroma and bright flavor of lemon pairs wonderfully with seafood. The recipe below is the perfect example of this combination. The lightly fried fish can easily be made gluten free and shows off the beauty of this simple addition.”
By Chef Maxime Bilet, James Beard Award Winner and Co-author of Modernist Cuisine.  Yields 3 servings.


INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb. Halibut or other White Fish Filet
  • 3 cups Neutral Frying Oil
  • tt. Salt and Pepper
  • 150g or about 1 cup Yukon Gold Potato, microplaned
  • 20g or 1 Tbs + 1 tsp Potato Starch
  • 50g or 1/4 cup + 3 Tbs Rice Flour, plus additional for dredging
  • 2g or 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1.5g or 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 25g or 2 Tbs Sparkling Water or Beer
  • 1 Lemon for zesting

DIRECTIONS

1. In a steep sided pot, bring the neutral oil up on a stove to 350 F over medium high heat. The pot should be large enough to have the oil be about 2 inches deep.
2. Cut the fish into smaller pieces about 2 oz a piece or a little less than an inch thick. It should make about 6 pieces.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the starch, flour, baking soda and salt. Separately, combine the potato and sparkling water or beer and stir gradually into the dry mixture just until it forms the batter.
4. Salt and pepper the fish to your liking and toss in the additional rice flour and dust off the excess. Drop the fish into the batter to coat evenly and immediately transfer to the hot frying oil. Cook the fish until golden brown and crispy on the outside and just cooked through. Ideal internal temperature is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Flip and rotate fish as necessary for even frying. Once cooked, remove from oil and drain off excess oil thoroughly on a paper towel or rack. Top with freshly microplaned lemon zest and serve immediately.


Learn more about Chef Maxime Bilet on his Chef’s Roll profile here.
Photos by Dylan Ward. Contributing editor Holly Trippett.
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