Haddock with salt and vinegar mash, frickles and walnut mayonnaise
Here is a playful take on a the British classic fish and chips. The simple addition of malt vinegar and salt to mashed potatoes is borderline genius, you get that delicious soggy chip shop chip flavour with the velvety smooth texture of mash. I also relocated a crispy golden beer batter from its usual home encasing the haddock to instead tangy, sweet pickled cucumbers to make 'frickles' (fried pickles). Served with a lovely creamy homemade walnut mayonnaise and beautifully pan-fried haddock, you could almost get away with calling it a 'healthy fish and chips'!
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Haddock
- 2 haddock fillets, skin on, each weighing approx. 180g
- 1 dash of oil
- salt
Frickles
- 6 baby cucumbers, cut into thick strips
- 200ml of malt pickling vinegar
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus extra to salt the cucumbers
- 100ml of water
- 3 dill stalks
- 100g of plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 150ml of brown ale
Walnut mayonnaise
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 200ml of walnut oil
- lemon juice, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 50g of walnuts, toasted and chopped
- chopped parsley, (optional)
Salt and vinegar mash
- 2 large floury potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 50g of butter
- 30ml of whole milk
- malt vinegar, to taste
- table salt, to taste
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Pickle the cucumbers 24 hours in advance. Place the cucumber strips into a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 minutes
- 6 baby cucumbers, cut into thick strips
2
Meanwhile, combine the pickling vinegar with sugar, salt and water in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the dill
- 200ml of malt pickling vinegar
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus extra to salt the cucumbers
- 100ml of water
- 3 dill stalks
3
Rinse the cucumbers, then once the liquor has cooled, pour over the cucumbers and leave to pickle in the fridge overnight (make sure the cucumbers are completely submerged in the liquid)
4
To make the mayonnaise, whisk the yolks with the Dijon mustard until pale and doubled in volume. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whilst continuously whisking until completely emulsified. If it begins to split, add a splash of cold water to bring it back together. Season with salt and lemon juice and fold through the toasted walnuts
- chopped parsley, (optional)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 200ml of walnut oil
- lemon juice, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 50g of walnuts, toasted and chopped
5
To make the salt and vinegar mash, boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain, pass through a potato ricer then return to the pan with butter and milk. Mix together with a spatula until you have a nice smooth mash, then season with plenty of malt vinegar and salt – it should taste like delicious chip shop chips
- 2 large floury potatoes, peeled and chopped
- table salt, to taste
- 50 butter
- 30ml of whole milk
- malt vinegar, to taste
6
Place a small pan of oil over a medium-high heat (or turn on your deep fat fryer) and heat to 180°C
7
To make the batter for the pickles, place the flour and baking powder into a bowl and slowly whisk in the ale until you have a coating consistency. Season with a pinch of salt
- 100g of plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
- 150ml of brown ale
- 1 tsp baking powder
8
Drain the pickled cucumber strips on kitchen paper then dip in flour then the batter. Once the oil’s hot enough (drip some batter in – it’s ready if it floats and turns golden) add the pickles, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Once golden, remove and drain on kitchen paper
9
As you’re frying the pickles, place a frying pan over a medium heat with a splash of oil. Salt the skin of the haddock, then place the fillets skin-side down in the pan. Cook for 4–5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets, until the skin is crispy. Flip over for the last minute of cooking
- 2 haddock fillets, skin on, each weighing approx. 180g
- 1 dash of oil
- salt
11
Plate the mash in the centre of a bowl and top with the fish. Lightly sprinkle the frickles with sea salt then place on top of the fish. Scatter some peas around the plates and serve the mayo on the side
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