Fish Yorkshires with chunky tartare sauce

Categories: March

Ingredients

• 1 tsp dried fast-action yeast
• 150ml carbonated water, at room temperature
• 150g plain flour
• 50g cornflour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 medium egg yolks
• 150ml beer or ale, at room temperature
• small handful of chopped fresh parsley
• 650g skinned fresh white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock, whiting or coley)
• vegetable oil
• 1-2 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped
• handful of baby gherkins, drained and cut into quarters lengthways
• 200g jar good-quality mayonnaise
• lemon wedges, to serve

Directions

1. Put the yeast into a small bowl and dissolve in a little of the carbonated water; whisk and set aside in a warm part of the kitchen for 10 minutes.

2. Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder and a good pinch of salt into a larger bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolks, yeast mixture, remaining water and beer or ale. Whisk to a smooth batter or blend in a food processor. Stir in the parsley, season and set aside. This can be done a few hours in advance, covered and kept in the fridge.

3. Cut the fish into big bite-size chunks and stir into the batter. Set aside. Pour enough vegetable oil into a six-cup 200ml capacity metal muffin tin, or a 12-cup 100ml capacity muffin tin to just cover the base of each cup. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes at the same temperature as the chips. Ladle the batter and fish into the muffin tin until each cup is full, then put back in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes for the larger puddings, or 30 minutes for the smaller ones, or until cooked through and golden. Run a knife around each Yorkshire, then turn the tin upside down onto a baking tray to release them. If you need to, you can pop them back into the turned-off oven to keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, mix the capers and gherkins into the mayonnaise and season to taste. Set aside.

5. Serve 1 large or 2 smaller fish Yorkshires per person, with a good spoonful of the tartare sauce, lemon wedges to squeeze over, chips and pea purée.

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