Beer-battered cod with crushed peas,

Everyone loves deep-fried fish and there’s nothing like homemade. The trick is to get the batter thick enough to coat the fish, and to make sure the fish is cooked through but the batter isn’t burnt.

Serves 4 Prep 15 mins Cook 10 mins

80g plain flour, plus extra

for dusting

40g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp malt vinegar, plus extra

to serve

1 tsp white wine vinegar 100ml cold beer

1 tsp fine sea salt

35ml sparkling water vegetable oil, for deep-frying 4 x 200g cod fillets, skinned

and pin-boned

FOR THE CRUSHED PEAS 400g frozen peas

40g butter pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tsp sugar 1 First, make the batter. Put the flour, cornflour and baking powder in a bowl, then add the vinegars. Add the beer and whisk until smooth, then add the salt and the sparkling water.

2 Half fill a deep-fat fryer or a large pan with vegetable oil and heat to 180C. Be careful and never leave the hot oil unattended.

3 Dust the cod in flour and pat off any excess. Dip each piece of cod into the batter, letting some of the excess batter drip off. Place the coated fish straight into the hot oil and cook for 3-4 mins or until the batter is golden brown and the fish is cooked through. Season with flaked salt and malt vinegar.

4 Meanwhile, cook the peas. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the peas and cook them for 2 mins. Drain them well, add the butter, cayenne, sugar and some salt and pepper, then crush. Check the seasoning and serve with the fish. Some chips never go amiss either.