Herb Battered Fish Food

LEMON, HERB & PARMESAN CRUSTED FISH

Steps:

• Mix the breadcrumbs with the grated lemon zest, grated Parmesan, chopped parsley, salt and pepper.
• Season the 4 skinless fish fillets. Pan fry in a little oil for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Turn over and sprinkle with the crumb mixture. Brown in the pan under a hot preheated grill for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter to the pan with the juice of 1 lemon. Melt around the fish and serve.

THE BEST BEER BATTERED FISH

Steps:

• Season the fish with salt and pepper.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl with a whisk.
• Dredge the fillets well in the flour mix, shaking off any excess. Refrigerate fillets until ready to fry.
• When the oil is hot, add the beer and honey to the flour mixture and stir well. A couple of lumps are preferable, so don't overwork it. Add a couple ice cubes to the batter.
• Dip a couple of fillets into the batter, coating them completely. Allow any excess batter to drain off.
• Gently place them into the 375°F oil and fry for 30 seconds.
• Flip the fillet, exposing the more-cooked bottom. Drizzle a little bit of batter on top. Flip the fillet back over and drizzle a little batter on top again. Don't overdo it, but just add a thin layer of additional batter.
• Fry the fish until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes total for fish that's an inch thick. Serve immediately.

BEER-BATTERED FISH TACOS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large frying pan or tabletop fryer to 365°F
• In a large bowl, whisk up flour with Old Bay, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• Whisk beer into batter then add egg and combine
• Dunk fish pieces into batter and fry a few pieces at a time to deep golden brown
• Salt fish when they come out of the oil, while they're still hot
• Keep warm in a moderate oven on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet
• Char tortillas in hot, dry skillet or over a burner flame
• In a food processor or blender, combine chipotles in adobo, lime juice, salt and crema until smooth; transfer to a small bowl
• Combine onion, jalapeño, salt, tomatoes and cilantro then fold in diced avocado and add lemon or lime juice
• Serve fish with tortillas and fixins alongside

CRISPY BEER BATTER FISH & CHIPS

Steps:

• Whisk self-rising flour, rice flour, and baking powder together in a bowl. Freeze until ready to use.
• Pat fish as dry as possible. Cut pieces lengthwise to get eight 1-inch thick strips. Place rice flour on a plate and season with salt. Dust fish lightly with the mixture and shake off excess. Cover a plate with crinkled foil to make a quick drying rack; place fish on top.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Pour beer into the flour mixture and whisk, adding more as needed, until batter is the consistency of thick pancake batter. Dip fish pieces into the batter to coat; lift out and let excess drip off.
• Fry fish in batches until golden brown, dunking occasionally if needed, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

LIGHT AND SIMPLE HERB AND GARLIC BATTER

Steps:

• Mix dry ingredients together in a deep bowl.
• Dump in milk all at once and beat with a whisk until smooth.
• Coat pieces of food to be fried in batter and deep-fat fry as usual.
• Any leftover batter can be drizzled into the hot fry oil to make batter crispies.
• Double if necessary but I'd recommend making extra batches after using the first rather than tripling because the fizz from the self-rising flour will be deflate after the batter sits for a while.
• If you don't have self-rising flour you can use all-purpose flour with a tsp of baking powder and a good pinch of salt per cup.

HERB BATTERED FISH

Steps:

• Dust fillets with plain flour and set aside.
• Combine the self raising flour, herbs, beer and egg.
• Mix to a smooth batter.
• Dip fish in batter, deep fry in moderately hot oil until crisp and golden, about 6 minutes.
• Serve with tartar sauce and chips.
• Garnish with lemon wedges and herbs.

CRISPY FISH AND CHIPS

Steps:

• For the chips: Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes or until they just start to soften. Drain and allow to dry on a wire rack for 10-30 minutes.
• Heat a large pot of vegetable/canola oil until hot. Carefully add the potatoes in batches and fry until golden brown and crisp. Drain with a slotted spoon and place back onto the wire rack. Keep the chips in a warm oven while you fry the fish.
• For the fish: Combine the flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Transfer half to a shallow dish / ziploc bag suitable for coating the fish. Whisk the beer or soda water into the flour in the mixing bowl until smooth. Coat the fish first in the flour mixture then in the batter.
• Carefully lower the fish into the hot oil, one to two pieces at a time and allow to fry for 7-10 minutes or until the fish is golden and crisp.
• Remove from the oil, drain on kitchen paper then serve with the chips and tartar sauce.

CORNMEAL-BATTERED FISH AND CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a shallow dish, combine 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal, milk, zest, basil and oregano; mix well to make a thick batter. Dust fish with additional 2 Tbsp cornmeal; add fish to batter and turn to coat both sides. Place fish on prepared baking sheet and spoon over any remaining batter, making an even coating. (Note: You can substitute 1 Tbsp lemon and herb seasoning for the zest, basil and oregano if desired.)
• Place potatoes in a large bowl and add vinegar, salt and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes next to fish on baking sheet.
• Bake until potatoes and fish are fork-tender and cornmeal batter just starts to crack, carefully flipping fish once, about 30 to 35 minutes. Yields 1 fish fillet and 1/2 potato per serving.

HERB AND POTATO CRUSTED HALIBUT WITH CUCUMBER NOODLES AND ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• For the tomato water: Line a hand strainer with cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic and a nice big pinch of salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides with a spatula, and pulse again. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer. Set aside to strain for 2 hours, giving it an occasional stir to redistribute the juices.
• For the cucumbers: Add the fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar and sambal to a large bowl and stir to combine. Trim the ends of the cucumbers so they are even in size. Using a mandoline, shave the cucumbers lengthwise on all sides, turning the cucumber when you get to the seeds. Discard the center with the seeds. Stack the shaved cucumber and slice lengthwise into noodles, about the width of linguine. Add to the dressing and sit for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• For the fish: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the thyme, chives, parsley and potato flakes to a small bowl and mix to combine. Sprinkle the halibut with salt, then brush with the egg wash. Dip each piece of fish into the herb and potato flake mixture, pressing firmly to ensure the crust is tightly adhered. Place onto a sheet tray with the crusted side up and set aside.
• Heat a large saute pan with some olive oil and the smashed garlic over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan to infuse the oil with the garlic. Cook until the garlic is golden brown, a few minutes, then remove from the pan. Add the zucchini and cook to soften, 2 to 3 minutes, then toss in the corn and cook for another minute. Finally, add the diced tomatoes and season with salt. Cook for just a minute, then turn off the heat.
• Heat a large nonstick pan with some olive oil over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Add the fish, crusted side down. Cook until the crust is golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip the fish, then transfer onto a sheet tray lined with a rack. Arrange the sliced tomatoes next to the halibut. Place into the oven and bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 to 130 degrees F when inserted with a thermometer, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Set up a deep fryer and heat canola oil to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour and wine in a small bowl and stir to make a batter. It should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter. If it's too thick, add a bit more wine. Dip the zucchini blossoms into the batter, then fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes, flipping halfway through. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt.
• To serve: Place a slice of the roasted tomato on the bottom of a shallow bowl and top with the cucumber noodles. Add some of the sauteed zucchini, corn and tomatoes over the top, followed by the fish, crust side up. Garnish with the fried zucchini blossoms and micro basil. Pour some of the tomato water around the edge of the plate right before serving.

HERB-BAKED FISH FILLETS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 F. Grease a shallow baking dish big enough to place the fish in a single layer.
• Place the fish fillets in the prepared baking dish.
• In a skillet or saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter until tender. Stir in the thyme and tarragon and cook for 1 minute longer.
• Spread the herb and butter mixture over the fish fillets.
• In a small bowl, combine the crushed corn flakes with the melted butter and parsley.
• Top with the seasoned cornflake crumbs and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Very thin fillets might take less time to check the center of the fish with a fork-flakes should separate freely.
• Serve the fish with lemon wedges.