Proper Fish & Chips

When we started our gluten free regime (to support Sous Chef J) over six years ago, only the loss of a few food/meal options actually bothered us about the change.  Being a Yorkshire lass, for me fish and chips from a chippy was one of them.  Back in 2006 not many eateries seemed to know anything about what gluten was (one 'chain' restaurant's waitress famously said "oh, yes, that's eggs, isn't it"... having provided her with a brief explanation of what/where gluten is found, we left!)  But, the overwhelming urge to eat fish and chips (F&C) became stronger with time.  

Imagine our delight when we discovered a 'local' (less than ten miles away) chip shop that ALWAYS supplies gluten free F&C!  Whenever they are open, The Famous Mr Chips in Rugby sells gluten free fish and chips.  Not the first Monday of the month or just after the fat/oil/fryer has been cleaned.  No complex timetable to remember, no relief if we've got it right or dismay if we've missed the 'day'.  Fish and Chips when WE choose. 

The chip shop is at 21 Lower Hillmorton Road, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 3ST.  Sadly, there's no website but it opens lunchtime and evenings Wednesday to Saturday.  When you order gluten free, it's treated as a special order (usually Mr Chips is in charge) and the fish is wrapped in foil, garnished with a lemon wedge and a sachet of gluten free tartare sauce is included.

Not a 'healthy' meal but it's a quick gluten free option that gives us choices we didn't have before.  Marvellous. 

If you google a map for CV21 3ST, and zoom in a bit The Famous Mr Chips is marked on it.  Barely 10 minutes West of Junction 18 of the M1... worth a diversion if you're looking for gluten free F&C goodies on a journey North/South.

Fish, Chips and Peas

It was a delight to be sent a packet of Isabel's Gluten Free Batter Mix by the lovely @Bels_Doughballs the other week.  Sous Chef J was keen to get testing and tasting and it was the perfect excuse to make our version of the Yorkshire classic - fish, chips and (not) mushy peas!

This is what we needed to make up batter with 125g of the mix - half a packet.  Yes, just 160ml of cold water.  The mix lists its ingredients as rice starch, cassava starch, brown rice flour, disodium biphosphate, sodium bicarbonate and salt).

Sous Chef J quickly got to work adding the water to the batter mix and attempted to be a speed hand mixer.  Having worked his magic, we had a lovely consistency of batter ready for action.  However, before we sorted out the fish, we put half of the batter mix into another bowl... more on that later!

The fish had been cut into thick fingers and these were coated in the batter.  Having heated some vegetable oil, the battered fish was added and cooking commenced.






After a few minutes, the batter turned an attractive caramel colour and the fish was removed and drained on a piece of kitchen paper.

After the addition of some steamed sugarsnap peas and our special spicy potato wedges it was time for Sous Chef J to taste test... whilst I got on with a little treat for pud.

Having split the batter mix into two, I decided to try to make deep fried bananas with the remaining half.  Admittedly, the bananas used were rather ripe but using the same technique as for the fish (albeit with fresh oil) the result was these... served with a dollop of home made crème fraiche and sprinkle of sesame seeds.

And, Sous Chef J's verdict?

We thoroughly enjoyed our take on fish, chips and peas and the pud was tasty too... but we will be using underripe bananas for deep frying in future!

Thank you @Bels_Doughballs for thinking of us and introducing another simple mix to our Gluten Free cooking options.