This is THE recipe for the perfect fish and chips. The fragrant fennel seeds work so well with the slightly sweet cider making this much more than your standard fish and chips. 

Hake or Whiting Fillets are perfect for this recipe, just add your favourite chips for the ultimate take on the British classic. 

Ingredients

  • For the Battered Hake

  • 4
    Hake fillets
  • 100g
    Stoneground, unbleached white flour
  • 100g
    Corn flour
  • 1 teaspoon
    Pure Sea Salt
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon
    Baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons
    Toasted fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
  • 250ml
    Sparkling cider
  • Extra
    Flour for dusting
  • 1-2 litres
    Sunflower oil, for frying
  • For the Tartare Sauce

  • 6–8
    Small gherkins, or a couple of larger ones, roughly chopped
  • 2–3 teaspoons
    Capers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 4–5 tablespoons
    Good quality mayonnaise
  • 2
    Spring onions, thinly sliced
  • A handful
    Dill, chopped

  • A handful
    Flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

  • 1
    Hard boiled egg, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1/2
    Lemon, juiced (to taste)

Method

  • To make the tartar sauce 

    Fold the gherkins and capers into the mayonnaise with the spring onions dill, parsley and egg. Season with salt and pepper and adjust the acidity with a dash of lemon juice, if you like. Set aside. 

    To make the battered hake

    In a bowl, combine the flour, cornflour, sea salt, baking powder
, fennel seeds and cider, whisking until you form a smooth batter. Set aside. 

    Fill a medium, heavy-based saucepan two-thirds full with sunflower oil. Heat until a cube of bread browns in 20 seconds.

    Cut the hake into chunky strips, about 3cm wide. Season with salt and pepper, then lightly dust with flour. 

    Dip the pieces of hake into the cider batter then lower them carefully into the hot oil. 

    Fry in batches (4-5 pieces at a time) for 5 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. 

    Lift out and drain briefly on kitchen paper. 

    Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve at once with the tartare sauce and lemon wedges.

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