Because what I really wanted to do at the end of a busy week was make a fish and chip supper from scratch with extras. But I did. Because it’s National Fish and Chips Day. And the thought of chips is usually enough to spur me into action.
But I am also extremely tired (and rather full) so I’m going to be brief. Not eating fish, I subbed in banana blossoms. Never had them before. They look like aliens.
I wanted side dishes so made mushy peas (but used frozen garden instead of the traditional marrowfat and then went off piste even further by adding garlic) and tartar sauce with a lot of chopped gherkin
Even though I make the best roasties, my chip game is poor. So I faffed around with par boiling and air drying and batch frying. They went soggy. But obviously I still ate a lot of them.
The banana blossoms looked more like chicken than fish when fried. The gluten free beer was very strong in the batter, and while they’d been tasteless from the can, the marinade had pepped the blossoms up a bit. And texture wise, not half bad. Not fishy though, despite all that seaweed.
The peas were awesome. Best bit. That and the scraps I made by flicking batter and crumbled bits of potato into the oil. And all topped off with vinegar from the pickled onion jar. A whole lot of faff though. But I’d never battered anything before, and that was quite fun. And at least the oil was fresh. I think I’m a little too tired to appreciate the awesomeness of fish and chips, a dish gifted to us by a combination of Sephardi and Huguenot refugees who thankfully brought their food traditions with them when they settled in the UK in the 16th and 17th century.
Unlike yesterday’s trying-too-hard-pecan-fight tweet, today’s debate about what should go with a fish and chip supper is still raging. What do you love? Can you beat the wally, pickled onion combo above?
I’m thinking of making mushy pea fritters tomorrow with the leftovers (thanks to Niffer for the idea). Any other suggestions?
Resources
https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/food/the-fish-dish-only-jews-leave-cold-1.47535
https://archive.org/details/ashillingcooker00soyegoog/page/n40/mode/2up
https://www.veganrecipeclub.org.uk/recipes/10-minute-banana-blossom-fish
https://www.veganrecipeclub.org.uk/recipes/big-fat-chips
The banana blossom and chips looked a bit questionable LIza! But thanks for including the confused Gary Lineker clip. I hadn’t seen that. If any of your UK based readers are inspired to spiral off from Folklore into an interest in Refugees, they could find out about their local City of Sanctuary group x
Banana blossom is definitely a bit questionable! Great shout out for the City of Sanctuary groups, thanks. And if people want to know more about how food from other cultures has enriched ours, try Spicing up Britain : The Multicultural History of British Food by
Panikos Panayi.