Traditional Fish and Chips with Tartare Sauce

Set your oven to 220C, or 200C fan, now. Drain the chips and dry them very thoroughly with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Any moisture left on them will steam rather than roast and you will end up with something pale and limp, which is not what we are after. Put the oiled baking tray into the oven for five minutes to get properly hot. When the tray is hot, carefully tip the dried chips onto it, turning them so they are well coated in the oil. Season generously with fine salt. Return the tray to the top shelf of the oven and leave them for 40 to 45 minutes in total, turning once halfway through. They need to be golden and properly crisp before the fish goes in the pan, so start the chips first and manage everything else around them.

Make the tartare sauce now while everything else is progressing. Into a small bowl, spoon 4 tablespoons of good mayonnaise. Add the finely chopped capers, the finely chopped gherkins, and the chopped flat-leaf parsley. Add the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with a little salt and white pepper and stir well. Taste it. It wants to be sharp, creamy, and slightly tangy, with the capers giving a little saltiness and the gherkins a mild vinegar note. Set it aside.

Now make the batter. In a bowl, whisk together the 120g of plain flour, the egg yolk, a pinch of salt, and half a teaspoon of baking powder. Pour in the cold sparkling water or cold pale ale gradually, whisking as you go, until you have a batter the consistency of single cream. It should coat the back of a spoon but not sit on it heavily. Put it back in the fridge for ten minutes. Cold batter is lighter batter, and a lighter batter is a better batter.

Now the chips should be about 20 minutes in. Turn them now if you have not already done so. They want another 20 to 25 minutes and should be deep golden and crisp by the time the fish is ready. With about 10 minutes left on the chips, begin heating the oil in your large deep saucepan or Dutch pot over a medium-high heat on the gas hob. Fill the pan no more than one third full of oil. This is important. Oil expands when food is added and a pan that is too full is a serious risk. Keep a lid within reach, not to cover the hot oil, but to smother the pan quickly if the fat should catch. Water must never be used on an oil fire. Keep children and anything you do not want splattered well clear.

A thermometer is useful here: you are aiming for 180C. If you do not have one, drop a small cube of bread into the oil. If it turns golden in about 60 seconds, the oil is ready. While the oil comes to temperature, dust the fish fillets lightly in the reserved 30g of plain flour, shaking off any excess. This gives the batter something to grip. Dip each fillet into the cold batter, letting the excess drip off for a moment, then lower it carefully into the hot oil away from you, one fillet at a time. Do not walk away from the pan. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once gently with a slotted spoon, until the batter is deep golden and the fish is cooked through. Official food safety guidance recommends fish reaches an internal temperature of 63C. Lift the fillets out with a slotted spoon and rest them on kitchen paper. Season with a little salt immediately. Wash your hands and any surface that has touched the raw fish before touching anything else.

In British fish and chips, the unifying element is not a sauce poured over everything but the vinegar that goes on at the table, and the tartare sauce that sits alongside. This gate is about bringing it all together properly before it reaches the plate. Check the chips: they should be coming out of the oven now, deep golden, properly crisp, and smelling of nothing but good potato and hot fat. If they want another five minutes, give it to them without apology. While the chips finish, set out your serving plates and warm them briefly in the oven for a minute or so. A hot plate keeps everything hotter for longer and takes no effort at all. Malt vinegar belongs on the table. Proper malt vinegar, dark and sharp. Let each person add their own.

Plate the fish and chips straightforwardly. The fish goes on first, the chips alongside. A wedge of lemon on each plate, because lemon cut fresh at the table is sharper and cleaner than anything squeezed in advance. A small spoonful of tartare sauce on the plate, or in a ramekin beside it if you prefer to keep things neat. A very small pinch of fine salt over the chips if they want it. That is all this dish needs. It does not want fussing. Carry the plates straight to the table while everything is hot. If you have any flat-leaf parsley left from the tartare sauce, a little chopped over the fish is pleasant, but it is not required. The dish is already done.