Enjoy gluten-free fish & chips with the all-time pairing of mushy peas and delicious, tangy, homemade tartare sauce.
Australia, New Zealand and the UK do the best Fish ‘n Chips, served either at the beach, the pub, cafes or even fancy restaurants like at Gordon Ramsey’s.
Yet, there seem to be so many different fish batter recipes out there, each giving different results. I’ve tested at least 10 batters and the one that accepts gluten-free flour the best is where the stiffly whisked egg whites are added to the batter. The fish is crispy, holds well and tastes incredible light.
In this post, you will find four recipes for each component of a typical fish and chip meal that usually includes mushy peas and tartare sauce. I would suggest starting off by preparing the fries first, followed by the mushy peas, the tartare sauce and finally the star of the dish, the fried fish.
Oven-Baked Chips
Rather than frying the potatoes, I prefer to prepare them healthier by oven-baking them. Try to use Russet potatoes (or Idaho potatoes) as their floury texture make the chip fluffy on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside.
Mushy Peas
This is a classic and great vegetable dish to add, plus it’s so easy and quick to make. Although it looks like baby food, the flavour has an amazing zing from the fresh mint and shallots. You don’t need to mash it to a pulp if you like some texture. Just choose your preferred consistency by following my recipe.
Tartare Sauce
If you prefer to make your own, rather than a store-bought sauce, you’ll have a delicious homemade tartare sauce made in no time, after several minutes of chopping gherkins, capers and chives and mixing in your favourite mayonnaise or crème fraîche.
Gluten-Free Fried Fish
The batter is made with gluten-free beer (readily available in most supermarkets, otherwise opt for fizzy water or soda water if preferred) and gluten-free plain flour. Make sure your baking powder is super fresh to help the batter rise, even though the egg whites give the batter a fantastic puff. One strict rule is that the fish HAS to be fried, there is no better way to cook it so that the batter transforms into a golden puffed-up crispy coating for the sweet, delicate fish inside.
For thinner and more dainty servings of fried fish, slice the cod fillet in half to create long thin fish pieces instead of a large fillet serving
Gluten-Free Fish & Chips
Equipment
- Deep-frying pan
- Electric handheld whisk, or
Ingredients
GLUTEN-FREE FRIED FISH
- 6 fresh or frozen cod fillets, topped and trimmed at the ends evenly
Rice Flour Coating
- 40 g rice flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Fish Batter
- 110 g store-bought or homemade gluten-free plain flour
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 300 ml gluten-free beer or fizzy water/plain soda
- 2 eggs, separated
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp sugar
For Frying
- sunflower oil, for deep frying
For Serving
- 2 lemons, cut in wedges
OVEN-BAKED CHIPS
- 18 Russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled (allow 3 potatoes per person)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped finely
- salt and freshly, cracked black pepper, to season
MUSHY PEAS
- 300 g frozen peas
- 2 small shallots, chopped finely
- 60 g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves, shredded finely
- salt and white pepper, to season
HOMEMADE TARTARE SAUCE
- 200 ml mayonnaise or crème fraîche
- 2 tsp lemon rind
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp sweet gherkins/small pickles, chopped finely
- 2 tbsp capers, drained, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped finely
Instructions
GLUTEN-FREE FRIED FISH
Fish Batter
- Prepare the fish batter by mixing the flour with the baking powder, beer and egg yolks. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form and fold them nto the beer batter. Set aside.
- Dry the fish with paper towels and salt well. This takes away the outside moisture of the fish and ensures a nice dry fish, not a wet fish that will clash with the batter.
- After a few minutes, brush away the salt and pat down again with paper towels.
Rice Flour Coating
- Mix the rice flour with some salt, pepper and optional cayenne pepper.
Frying the fish
- Preheat a deep pan to medium-high and fill it halfway with the sunflower oil.
- Cover the fish fillets with seasoned rice flour. Shake off excess.
- Lower the fish in the beer batter holding the fish at one end the whole time.
- Transfer the fish to the hot oil and gently lower it away from you into the pan.
- Fry the fish for 5 minutes, flipping it over halfway. The fish should appear puffed and golden.
- Remove and drain each fish fillet on a wire rack. Sprinkle with some salt.
- Serve immediately with the oven-baked chips, mushy peas, tartare sauce and lemon wedges.
OVEN-BAKED CHIPS
- Slice each peeled potato in half lengthways and cut each slice into chip shapes (as shown in the photo). The potatoes will shrink in the oven while cooking, so don’t cut your potatoes too thinly.
- Add the potato slices into a large pot filled halfway with cold water.
- Add some salt and bring the water to a boil with the lid on.
- Preheat the oven to 230°C/ 450°F.
- Bring the water down to a simmer and leave the potatoes to cook for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and return them to the empty pot, shaking them to slightly break the surface of the potatoes. This is what gives the fries an extra crisp look.
- Transfer the potatoes to two large roasting trays and pour some olive oil to lightly coat all the potatoes. Turn the potatoes over to coat the other side.
- Generously season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 20 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F and turn the potatoes over to roast a further 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
- Place several sheets of paper towel in a large bowl and drop the oven-baked fries into the bowl, shaking the bowl for the paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Remove the paper, taste a chip and season again, if needed.
- Serve immediately or cover with foil to reheat in the oven for 5 minutes just before serving
MUSHY PEAS
- Heat a large frying pan to medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and fry the shallots gently for 5 minutes.
- Add the peas and butter. Gently fry for a further 10 to 12 minutes, breaking down the peas with a potato masher. Adding butter will give the peas a creamy flavour and a glossy appearance.
- Turn off the heat, add the mint and season with salt & pepper.
- If you like the mushy peas to be smoother in texture, puree them with a handheld blender or food processor. Set aside until serving time.
HOMEMADE TARTARE SAUCE
- In a medium bowl, mix all the above ingredients together.
- Cover and chill until serving time.
Notes
Fried fish
- Keeps for one day
- Unsuitable to freeze
Oven-baked Potato Chips
- Best eaten the same day as baked
- Unsuitable to freeze
Mushy Peas
- Keeps for 2 days
- Reheats well in the microwave on HIGH for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Unsuitable to freeze
Tartar Sauce
- Keeps for 1 week chilled
- Unsuitable to freeze
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