Potato Chip and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

580ml All-purpose Flour
5ml Salt
5ml Baking Soda
150g Unsalted Butter
190ml Light Or Dark Brown Sugar
125ml Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
10ml Vanilla
30ml Whole Milk
500ml Chocolate Chips
250ml Crushed Salt Flavour Potato Chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160˚ C. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat, swirling in the pan until begins to brown. Once browned, transfer the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix on low speed.

Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and milk, mixing until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, making sure not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Into a small bowl, add the crushed potato chips. Scoop out a tablespoon of the cookie dough to form a small ball. Roll the ball in the crushed potato chips, pressing down to flatten the ball. Transfer the ball to a baking sheet that you’ve lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Space the cookies 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake until the edges are golden brown, 13-15 minutes.Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Fish and Chip Shop Curry Gravy

When you go into a 'chippie', the common name for a fish and chip shop in England, you are likely to be offered curry gravy with your fish and chips, especially in the east end of London. Here is the version of this delectable sauce that I learnt when I was in the UK. I was amazed to find that an apple is added to this sauce, but it makes the sauce nice and creamy, and depending on the kind of apple you use, it can be sweet or tart. My son-in-law goes dilly for this sauce! 

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

1 apple, peeled

15ml curry powder

30ml sunflower oil

30ml flour

560ml water

15ml tomato purée

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

lemon juice

Method:

Chop the onion and apple into fine dice and fry in the oil with curry powder until tender. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the water, tomato purée  seasoning and lemon juice to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with fish and chips immediately or store in the fridge until required.

English Fish and Chips

Ingredients:
4 fillets of firm white fish, like haddock, hake or cod.
170g flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
1 small bottle or can of beer, 330-340ml
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to season
extra flour to dredge the fish fillets
1.4kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky sized chips
sunflower oil to fry

Method:
Heat the oil in a chip pan or deep fat fryer to 190 C.

Prepare the chips and rinse and dry thoroughly.

Fry the chips for 3-4 minutes until soft but not coloured. Shake, drain well and set aside. Allow the oil to cool or lower the fat fryer temperature to 160 C.

Put some flour on a plate to dredge the fish fillets. Take the fillets, one at a time, and ensure they are covered with flour. It is important that the fish is covered with flour as it stops the batter slipping off when frying. Leave the fish fillets in the flour while making the batter.

Normally the batter should be made one hour before you use it, but if this is not convenient, use it as soon as you have made it. I find that standing the batter makes it fluffy and crispy when frying.

To make the batter, put flour, bicarb, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Add the beer gradually, whisking as you go until you have a thick coating batter. What ever beer is left is for the chef. Whisk the batter thoroughly until it is smooth and free of lumps. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly again.

Have newspaper - the traditional receptacle for fish and chips - or plates ready for serving.

Ensure your oil has cooled to 160 C. Once the oil temperature is suitable for fish frying, take one fillet of fish at a time, holding it by the tail or thin end, swirl it around the batter until it is well coated and plunge it immediately into the hot fat. As soon as it has crisped up and set, add the other fillets, one at a time, taking out the first fillets as they cook - about 6-10 minutes depending on the size and thickness. Place onto a paper lined tray and keep warm in the oven while finishing the cooking of the rest of the fillets.

Turn up the heat setting for your fryer to 190 C and cook the chips until golden and crisp.

Serve on newspaper - or plates -  with salt and vinegar or with fish and chip shop curry gravy.

Cook's Tip

This batter is great to use for small fish goujons, chicken goujons or tempura vegetables.    

Zucchini Oven Chips

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 t seasoned salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1/8 t black pepper
2 T fat-free milk
2 1/2 cups (1/4 inch-thick) slices zucchini  or courgettes (about 2 small)
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220C.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. 

Place milk in a shallow bowl. 

Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in dry mixture. 

Place coated slices on an oven proof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. 

Bake at 220C for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. 

Serve immediately.

Gram Flour Chips

Ingredients:
15ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing and deep-frying
5ml cumin seeds
15 fresh curry leaves
5ml ground turmeric
15ml finely minced ginger
½ green chilli, finely chopped
½ bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
200g gram flour or chickpea flour
600ml water
2ml salt
2ml freshly ground black pepper
5ml nigella seeds
30-50ml polenta meal

Method:

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the spices, ginger, chilli and coriander and cook for a few minutes until aromatic.

Sift the gram flour into a bowl, then whisk in the water until smooth.

Pour the paste into the saucepan, add the salt and pepper and stir over a moderate heat with a wooden spoon or spatula for 10-12 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and comes away from the sides of the pan (the process is similar to making firm polenta, but the gram flour takes a little longer to thicken).

Grease a small oven tray and sprinkle with the nigella seeds and a little polenta. Pour over the gram flour mixture, cover with a piece of greaseproof and quickly flatten out the mixture. Chill in the fridge until the mixture has hardened.

Preheat a deep-fat fryer to180C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

Carefully turn the hardened gram flour mixture out onto a chopping board and cut into chips. Dust the chips with polenta meal.

Deep-fry the chips for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.