English Fish and Chips in the Garden State

Since being back from London, I have been craving fish and chips. We had it once, and it was quiet delicious. So I scoured the internet for a traditional recipe, hoping for something to recreate the light, crispy, non-oily batter I was treated to in London at Ahmed and Areeg's favorite chip shop. As it had happened many times before, I found what I was looking from one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Tyler Florence.

I tried to be as authentic as possible, so my fish was accompanied by chips (a.k.a. American fries) and mushy peas.

Here is how you can recreate the meal.

Let's start with the chips, which was handled beautifully by my sister. I was skeptical at first when I heard her method, but they turned out delicious.

Peel and slice potatoes into finger sized pieces, about 1/2 inch thick, by 2 1/2 or 3 inches long.

Add to deep fryer, or pot filled with oil you want to deep fry in, WHILE the oil is cold. Turn stove on medium and let potatoes cook several minutes, until almost cooked through.

Turn heat up to medium high, and cook a few minutes more until chips are brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and season with salt.

On to the fish, courtesy of Tyler Florence, from Food Network. This recipe makes a ton of batter, perhaps enough for 8 pieces, so cut in half if you need to.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) can soda water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 (8-ounce) cod or haddock fillets, cut in 1/2 on an angle
1/2 cup flour, for dredging

*Tyler uses rice flour here, instead of regular, but I did not have. I thought mine was still great with the substitution.

Directions
Heat 3 inches of the oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Combine soda water and egg and pour into the flour mixture. Whisk to a smooth batter. Spread the flour on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces in the rice flour and then dip them into the batter, letting the excess drip off. Fry the fish and chips for 4 to 5 minutes until crispy and brown. Drain on paper towel, and serve immediately.


One last thing: the mushy peas. The real English mushy peas are some sort of dried peas, soaked overnight...blah blah blah. I bought home a bag of frozen, organic peas, cooked it on the stove top for just a few minutes.


They would have been delicious as is, but I wanted mushy peas so I mushed them. They were still delicious.


Bon appetit.

London Bound

I am going away next week, to see London, Big Ben, walk alongside the Thames River, and wish Kate and William well on their recent marriage (since I missed the wedding). What I am looking forward to most is spending quality time with my dear friend Areeg.

What Areeg is most looking forward to is having proper British afternoon tea. What is afternoon tea? According to a quick google search it is "a light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes; "an Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea." I've always wanted to go and what better place to do it than the city where it all began.

It will be our first time, and our concern right now is "what to wear?" So I googled that too: The dress code for traditional afternoon tea is still smart. Ladies don't have to wear dresses, hats and gloves anymore, but gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie in most places. Whew, good thing we are not gentleman (and we will not be accompanied by our gentlemen on this outing), but we are fairly certain that our collection of sneakers and comfort shoes will not do. In fact most of my wardrobe is not "smart". It's more "mom." I wish I had a tiny violin right now to lament the state of my wardrobe.

After some thought I've decided to wear a long dress. I will now turn my attention to my sister's closet, since I do not own long dresses. Having sisters is such a blessing, for so many reasons, but I really appreciate the sharing of the wardrobe, the style advice and the often heard back and forth "You're wearing thAt?"

Having sisters is just one of the blessings I've had growing up in a big family. Like most kids, I did not appreciate my family growing up. Many times I was held back from things I wanted to do because my parents wanted to make an example of me. My siblings were able to do everything I did, about 5 years sooner. And I was usually angst ridden, focused on what I could not do, and overlooked what I could do.

In retrospect I was so blessed. I always had a friend (though we were not always friends). Between six children, we were never short on company. In fact, I know at times we desired privacy from each other.

Now that I am a mother, I sometimes tell myself what I would like to do different form my parents. But all in all, I loved the way we were bought up. While we were growing up it all seemed abnormal and crazy, I now see how it was more normal than I could ever hope for. I wish for the same, and even better for my daughter. I pray for a big family for her, so she always has someone by her side, Inshalah.