Gourmet Fast Food Episode 1: Cisk Battered Fish & Chips 🐟

The time has finally come, FoodBlog Network is back, back, back again and it’s here to serve up some insatiably moreish fast food of the gourmet kind. For this season of Gourmet Fast Food, our entire 6-episode menu will feature a Maltese Twist, giving all our fast food classics their local flair and forever spot in our hearts and on our weekly menu!

For our first ever episode of Gourmet Fast Food, Chef Stephen La Rosa is bringing his A-game with a Cisk Battered Fish, Twice Cooked Chips and Fancy Peas. A favourite on his list and from today onwards, surely a top staple in your home too. 

So without further ado, let’s get right down to the deets of this Pub Classic and take a closer look at the ingredients and method for this show-stopping dish made fancy in Fino’s stellar kitchen!

Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the Chips:

• 600g potatoes 
• 2lt water
• 30g salt*
• 5g sugar*
• 2lt neutral oil

For the Peas:

• 100g peas, shelled (fresh or frozen)
• 100g fresh broad beans, shelled
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 100g leek, halved and sliced
• 15g mint leaves, sliced
• 30g butter

Battered Fish:

• 2 fillets of sea bream, pin bones removed
• 300g Cisk Lager, ice cold
• 150g all-purpose flour*
• 50g corn flour*
• 8g salt*
• 3g baking soda*
• 100g all-purpose flour*, for dusting
• 1 lemon

* all sealed, dried ingredients are sponsored Lamb Brand products, each redeemable on the Cook & Exchange Gift Scheme. 

Equipment

• Knife
• Chopping board
• Tray
• Baking tray
• Large mixing bowl
• Small pot**
• Medium-sized pot**
• Large pot**
• Plate
• Sieve or colander
• Fish spatula or spider
• Air fryer**
• Rubber spatula
• Whisk

** these select pieces of equipment were kindly sponsored by Crosscraft for Episode 1 of Gourmet Fast Food

This is where you're heading, and trust us... it's absolutely scrumptious!

Method

For the chips:

1. Start off this recipe by washing and cutting your potatoes into batons roughly 1cm thick. Next, add the potatoes to a pot of water seasoned with salt and sugar.
2. Bring the water up to the boil, return to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender. 
3. Drain the potatoes through a colander and shake lightly to rough up the exterior of the chips. This will allow for a crunchy outside to form while keeping the inside nice and fluffy. Place your slightly shaken potato sticks onto a tray and pop into the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen. 
4. Once your chips are nicely frozen, slide them into your trusty air fryer. Make sure your temperature is set at a piping hot 200℃ and allow them to cook for 14 minutes. Check on your chips every now and then to make sure they’re browning and getting that ultra crisp texture. 
5. If you’re using a regular deep fry set-up, bring your oil up to 190℃ and fry your chips for about 3-4 minutes or until crispy. Season your chips with salt to taste before serving. 

Whoever said an air fryer can't crisp up your tatoes?

For the peas:

1. Start on your peas by placing a small pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add your sliced leeks to the pot and season lightly with salt. Remember to stir occasionally and continue cooking for 5 minutes or until the leeks have softened nicely. 
2. Add your minced garlic to the pot and continue to cook while stirring for 2 minutes.
3. In another pot, bring some water up to a boil over high heat and season liberally with salt until it tastes as salty as the sea. Add your broad beans and cook for 1 minute before adding the peas and continuing to cook for 2-3 minutes until they are both tender. 
4. Strain the peas and broad beans through a sieve and add them to your small pot of cooked-down leeks. Stir the ingredients to combine but leave the heat off while you cook your fish. 

Give your peas some extra attention with this dish, add some broad beans!

For the fish:

1. Place the oil into a large pot, ensuring that the oil doesn’t come up more than halfway up the pot to avoid any dangerous splatters or oil spillage. Place the pot on medium-high heat and monitor the temperature until it reaches 180℃.
2. Combine the flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the cold Cisk Lager and whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until smooth. 
3. Lay out a plate and add your additional flour and season lightly with salt. Season the fillets of fish with salt on both sides and dust well in the flour, shaking off any excess. 
4. Working with one fillet at a time, from the tail end of the fish, dredge it through the beer batter, allowing any excess to drip off.
5. Gently place your fish in the hot oil, swaying it into the pot away from you to avoid any unnecessary splashes. Allow to cook for 2 minutes or until browned before flipping it over to continue browning the second side for another 2 minutes. 
6. Once browned, place into an oven set to 100℃ until you are finished frying. Remember to turn off the heat to your pot of oil once done frying. If you will be cooking more portions of fish, make sure your oil is at a steady 180℃ before you add your beer-battered fish in, lower temperature will result in an oil batter and hotter oil will cause your fish to brown too quickly, leaving the inside slightly underdone. 

This Cisk batter will be even crispier than the Chippy's!

Final steps:

While the last of the fish is frying, gently warm up your peas and add a few tablespoons of butter to the pot, along with some chopped mint and a light squeeze of lemon juice. Check on your chips, which should have received a golden brown colour and remove them from the air fryer. 

Once everything is cooked and warmed through, plate up and serve immediately. Add a squeeze of lemon if you’re up for some fresh, zesty vibes, pour yourself a glass of Cisk Lager and dig in. 

And there you have it. A freshly prepared pub meal to kill those cravings but with an added bit of class with Chef Stephen La Rosa’s gourmet flair.

Go on, dig in, you know you want to!

Join us here at FoodBlog Network on the 5th August for Episode 2 of Gourmet Fast Food, where Chef Stephen gets his creativity rolling with a true Maltese Twist. Stay tuned for more sneak peeks on what’s to come next week, we’ll give you a hint, it’s going to be hella meaty!