Although I know this will never be as good as an order of fish & chips in a British pub, it’s still a worthwhile way to get a bit of the flavor, especially if you use malt vinegar as I suggest below! The “chips” part of this combo can be found in a previous blog post (or see the Berkshire Eagle link below), and for the actual column with the oven-baked fish from this past Wednesday’s Berkshire Eagle, click here.

FEAR OF FRYING

by Elizabeth Baer

Sometimes when my husband looks in the fridge and says there’s nothing for dinner, I roll my eyes, pull out some small container of leftovers, and build a meal around it. Once, when a chunk of brisket tore off when turning it, we discovered that the flavor was great to elevate a cheater’s meat ragu. Now I save any leftover brisket gravy for just this purpose. Or, more recently, when I unearthed a bottle of tequila with hardly half an inch left in the bottom of the bottle, I decided the space taken up in the cupboard wasn’t worth it. So I bought a mango and used the purée with some lime juice and cream of coconut for a fabulous cocktail.

Sometimes, however, a special purchase inspires me to build a meal around it. The last time I was at King Arthur in Norwich, Vermont, I bought a maple cider vinegar that I started using in the vinaigrette that I throw together on an ordinary evening when we have a salad. The dressing was so much better than it had been with other vinegars, and as the bottle’s contents dwindled, I decided to look for the company online. I was thrilled to find American Vinegar Works, a relatively local Massachusetts business located in Worcester that hand crafts a wide range of vinegars. I ordered more maple cider vinegar, and also wild blueberry apple cider vinegar and porter beer malt vinegar.

They are all fabulous, and the porter beer malt vinegar had me craving fish ’n chips, but I didn’t want to fry. I have nothing against fried foods, nor am I unable to fry food. But if it’s something that truly needs deep frying, for me, in my home kitchen, it’s just too much of an ordeal and requires such a quantity of oil. I know that people who fry at home quite often will strain the used oil and save it for multiple frying sessions, but that’s just more than I’m interested in doing.

Instead, I decided to make oven-baked, panko-coated fish and oven duck fat fries. The fries I’ve written about previously, so here’s the fish part of the meal. To give it a bit of an English flavor I whisked a bit of Coleman’s prepared mustard in with the egg, but you can try any number of other ingredients for flavoring, or nothing at all. Sometimes I put a bit of cayenne in with the crumbs, and other times some garlic powder. It’s a versatile recipe as long as you stick to the basic paradigm.

You can certainly serve tartar sauce along with the fish, and ketchup with the fries, but to take the English route, reach for some malt vinegar instead!

FAUX FISH (& CHIPS)

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound cod, haddock, or other firm white fish, cut into 4 pieces
1 egg
¼ teaspoon English mustard (optional; other flavorings work but may need larger quantity)
1 cup plain panko crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Few grinds pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper and/or garlic powder (optional, or other spices)
Malt vinegar and fries for serving, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a half sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Beat together the egg and mustard (if using) in a small shallow dish or bowl. In a larger glass pan or bowl, combine the panko crumbs, melted butter, salt, pepper, and cayenne (if using).

Using food prep gloves for these steps is helpful but not necessary. Blot the pieces of fish dry with paper towel. One by one, dip the pieces in the egg mixture, then dredge in the crumb mixture. Place on the prepared pan. Be sure the pieces are spread out so that air can circulate around them in the oven. Press any remaining crumbs on top of the fish pieces.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the crumbs have become golden.

Serve with malt vinegar and fries, if desired.

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