Fish and Chips at Home

Bust out a Guinness and pull up a bar stool, lads and lassies. Today is all about the ultimate pub food: Fish and Chips.

With some smart planning, you can enjoy Fish and Chips right at home.  My version is baked, not fried, so it is not so heavy. I also make my dipping sauce with yogurt. So, it's not a heavy mayo-based tartar sauce. Just two tablespoons of mayo is all you need!

I advise cooking this in the order in which I am presenting the recipes. Make the cabbage slaw first. You can even make it the day ahead. It needs to marinate for at least six hours. Next, make the dipping sauce and set it in the refrigerator to chill. Third, bake the chips. Raise the temp of the oven then bake the fish. You can cover the chips with aluminum to keep them nice and warm for when it's time to eat.

I used cod, but you could also use tilapia.

My family loves this Fish and Chips, and it's so much fun to make at home. It's like you're up in the pub at your very own kitchen table.

Red Cabbage Slaw
Makes 4-6 side dish servings

1 10-14 ounce bag of red cabbage slaw
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, wine vinegar, canola oil, salt and pepper. Add red cabbage. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. You may toss the cabbage during the marinating time to redistribute the dressing. Serve chilled.

Dipping sauce:
1 pint greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. dijon
2 Tbsp. horseradish
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chips:
(Makes 6 to 8 side dish servings)
4-5 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch thick wedges
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place potato wedges on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat all the wedges.

Place in hot oven for 20 minutes. Flip tray. Cook for 10-15 minutes more. Potatoes should be crispy and cooked through.

Serve with: Malt vinegar or ketchup

Fish:
(Makes 6 main dish servings)

2 pounds cod, cut into 2-inch by 5-inch sticks or as close to this as you can get, patted dry with towels
2 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
2 tsp. cajun seasoning
Nonstick cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Line up three medium bowls. In the first bowl, add flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In the second bowl, add eggs.  Lightly whisk.

In the third bowl, add panko bread crumbs, cajun seasoning and salt and pepper.

Dredge each fish stick in the flour, then eggs, then panko. Line up on baking sheet. Repeat to prepare all fish sticks.

Bake for 8 minutes. Rotate pan. Bake 7 minutes more or until fish is cooked through and panko is crispy.

Please note: You may garnish your fish and chips with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. In addition to the dipping sauce, serve with lemon wedges, malt vinegar, ketchup or hot sauce if desired.