Recipe: Cod in breadcrumbs with tartar sauce
07 December 2018 at 12:19
The classic fish and chips without going to a fish and chip shop!
Perfect for a cosy night in when it is too cold and wet to make a dash for the chip shop! Cod is the go-to variety of fish for Fish and Chips south of the border, its natural sweetness goes very well with the tang of lemon juice and it is easy to make your own tartare sauce.
First the breadcrumbs. I have mentioned these in the Blog of November 2015 but in case you didn’t keep that recipe(!), I repeat the process here. Roughly break up any crusts or left over ends of loaves, I do this in a food processor, pour onto an oven tray and leave in a cooling oven (or the top of an Aga) overnight. Once dried out, return to the food processor and “blitz” until smooth. The breadcrumbs will keep in an air tight container for ages! If you want really smooth crumbs then rub them through a sieve.
Next is the sauce. Now of course you can make your own mayonnaise but, really when making this sauce you don’t need to, as the flavours are so strong all you need is a good base mayo as texture, but buy a good one, not too acidic, it will keep in the fridge but here is a simple recipe to make more than enough for four generous portions.
Tartare sauce
Ingredients
6 tblsp good mayonnaise
2 gherkins or 8 cornichons roughly chopped
Tblsp capers, juice squeezed out and roughly chopped
Tblsp parsley finely chopped
Juice of a lemon
Method
- Mix together with a little ground black pepper
The Cod
Lastly the cod itself. You can very simply dip directly into the breadcrumbs but for me it’s best to dip in flour first then an egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs. This gives a lovely crisp outside and a moist flaky inside.
Ingredients
4 fillets of cod about 180g each
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tblsp Plain flour
Egg wash made with one egg beaten with a little milk
Home made dry breadcrumbs
A little oil and butter
Method
- Season the cod lightly with salt and pepper
- Place the flour in an open bowl or plate, then the egg wash in a bowl and lastly the breadcrumbs on a plate.
- Lightly dust the fish all over in a little flour, then dredge through the egg wash making sure each fillet is well coated, and lastly coat in the breadcrumbs, ensuring a complete covering.
- Fry the fish in a little oil and butter until browned on one side and then turn over and repeat. Remove from the pan and serve with the tartare sauce and chips!
Recipe by Christopher Trotter
Food photography by Caroline Trotter