Saturday 17 August 2013

Chicken Fritters Roll with Roast Potatoes

Chicken fritters with garlic dressing in a bread roll with roast potatoes

Chicken fritters like these ones are made from strips of fresh chicken breast fillet. They are deep fried in a simple batter to produce delicious, tender, succulent chicken in a crisp and crunchy shell. While it may be more common to serve an almost burger style creation like this with chips or fries, these tasty garlic and chive roast potatoes made a scrumptious alternative on this occasion.

Ingredients per Serving

1 skinless chicken breast fillet
2 tbsp self-raising/rising flour
Salt
Milk
Vegetable oil for frying
1 bread roll or burger bun
Squeeze of garlic and herb salad dressing
Garlic and chive roast potatoes to serve

Preparing batter for making chicken fritters

Directions

Spoon the flour in to a flat-bottomed bowl and season with salt. Very slowly, start pouring in milk as you whisk with a fork until a batter the consistency of double/heavy cream has been formed.

Deep frying pan of oil for frying chicken fritters

Add about an inch and a half depth of vegetable oil to a deep frying pan and bring it up to a high heat. Slice the chicken breast fillet lengthwise in to three portions. Dip each chicken strip in turn in to the batter and briefly allow the excess to drip off before gently depositing in the hot oil.

Chicken fritters are drained on kitchen paper

Fry the fritters for about five minutes, turning occasionally with a deep frying spider, until the batter is crisp and a burnished golden colour. Lift to a plate covered with kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil and allow them to become even more crisp and dry.

Toasted bread roll

Cut the bread roll or burger bun in half and lightly toast on the cut sides. Lay on a serving plate as shown.

Chicken fritters are laid on bread roll and plated with herb roast potatoes

Lift the chicken fritters on to the bottom half of the roll and plate the roast potatoes. Squeeze the garlic and chive dressing over the fritters and lay the top of the roll in place to serve.

Chicken fritters on bread roll with garlic and chive roast potatoes

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Pan Fried Cod Fillets with New Potatoes

Cod fillets are simply pan fried and served with new potatoes and salad

This is a really simple way of cooking fresh cod fillets to perfection. This is a codling which I caught myself and carefully filleted. It is essential for this recipe that if you are buying the cod fillets, you be sure to get them with the skin still on.

Larger cod fillet was halved for frying

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small cod fillets (skin on)
5 new potatoes (or as required)
1 tablespoon plain/all purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Little bit of butter
1 teaspoon chopped chives
Handful of green leaf salad combination of choice
1 tablespoon canned sweetcorn (drained)

Cod fillet skin sides are dusted with seasoned flour

Directions

Put the potatoes in to a pot of cold, salted water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer until the potatoes are soft. This will usually take somewhere in the region of about twenty-five minutes.

Scatter the flour on a plate and season. Bring a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil up to a medium heat in a frying pan before patting the skin side only of the cod in the seasoned flour. Gently shake off the excess flour and lay the cod in the pan skin side down.

Butter and chopped chives are added to the drained new potatoes

The cod should be fried for a few minutes on the skin side until you can see it is almost done. While this is happening, drain the potatoes and return them to the pot with the butter and chives. Gently swirl the pot or stir with a wooden spoon to coat the potatoes in the herb butter.

Salad bed for cod fillets is plated

Reduce the heat under the frying pan and turn the cod carefully on to its flesh side for a minute or so to complete cooking. Lay the salad on your serving plate where it will become a bed for the cod.

Cod fillets are laid on salad bed

Lift the cod with a spatula on to the salad and spoon the sweetcorn on to the plate. Add the potatoes immediately before service.

Note that the nicely crisped skin should easily peel away from the cod flesh.

Crispy skin peels easily from cod fillets