Ensenada fish tacos with chilli and coriander

WE SERVE these delicious tacos at my fish and chip restaurants. They were inspired by my late Australian friend, Rudi, and a trip he made to Ensenada — a city on the Baja California coast of Mexico, where they make fabulous fish tacos. SERVES 6

12 x 15cm corn tortillas 600g cod fillet 1 litre corn or vegetable oil

100g plain flour, seasoned with pinch of salt and 6 turns of black peppermill

FOR THE BATTER

200g plain flour ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder 275ml ice-cold beer

FOR THE TOPPINGS

¼ small white cabbage, finely shredded

1 avocado, stoned, peeled and diced Pico de gallo salsa (see above) Hot chilli sauce, such as Cholula or Huichol

FOR THE CHIPOTLE CREMA

2 chipotles en adobo (available from supermarkets) 3 tbsp mayonnaise 3 tbsp soured cream Juice of ½ lime WARM the tortillas in a dry frying pan, in a microwave or in the oven. Get your toppings — shredded cabbage, diced avocado, pico de gallo salsa and hot chilli sauce — ready. Mix the ingredients for the crema and set aside.

To make the batter, sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a roomy bowl. Using a balloon whisk, incorporate the beer until you have a smooth batter. Set aside.

Cut the fish into fingers about 1cm thick. Heat the oil in a large pan to 190C. Dip a few pieces of fish into the seasoned flour, shake off excess, then dip them into the batter. Fry for 2-2½ minutes until crisp and golden.

Repeat until you’ve cooked all the fish, draining each batch briefly on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Serve the fish immediately in warm tortillas, with the toppings on the table for guests to help themselves.