Chip Shop Curry Beans, Mushy Peas & Steamed Fish
Main Course or Starter
Feeds 4
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Difficulty: Medium
I was a bit poorly this week. When I’m under the weather I always crave comfort food. My wife isn’t a chippy person so I don’t eat fish & chips very often; but like most staunch Brits, I crave it often! It just so happened that this was my comfort craving! I couldn’t get to the chippy and now I’m gluten free it’s hard to go anyway. So I raided the cupboards and pulled together this little number - which hit every spot I needed it to!
Beans are such a versatile yet underused and undervalued ingredient. I can’t recommend cooking and eating more of them enough! Just delicious! I use a brand called Bold Bean Company - organic, super high quality and you will really notice the difference when you cook and eat them!
The curry sauce is actually a really versatile recipe and can be used for all sorts - coating some chicken or roasted veggies or as an option for a Katsu Curry sauce - it’s not exactly authentic in that sense but who really cares, right?
The key to this is not being shy with the malt vinegar - I wanted to really give everything the chippy vibe - so it was salty, vinegary, and as much about the aroma coming off the dish as its flavour - be brave, its worth it!
It was missing some crunch - I can’t have crispy onions anymore (wheat) and couldn’t be bothered with the mess of making some little tempura or batter bits - so I figured a scrunched up packet of salt and vinegar crisps hits the perfect spot, so that’s been added in!
INGREDIENTS:
1 Medium Onion
1 Large Carrot
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Medium Bramley Apple
350ml Chicken (or Veg) Stock
50ml Double Cream
1 Tbsp Mild Curry Powder
1 Tsp Ground Turmeric
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1 Dsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
1 Jar Bold Bean Co Queen Butter Beans or White Beans or 2 Tins Butter/White Beans in Water
4 Fillets White Fish
200g Frozen Peas
50g Double Cream
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Malt Vinegar
Salt & Vinegar Crisps
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
METHOD:
Add the olive oil to a saucepan and heat on medium
Slice the onion and carrot and a pinch of salt and cook/sweat down for 10 minutes until soft
Peel and mince the garlic cloves and add to the pan - cook for another 2-3 minutes
Peel and roughly chop the apple - add to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes
Add the chicken or veg stock, curry powder, turmeric and ground ginger bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until all the veg and apples are completely soft
Add the double cream and the soy sauce and blend the sauce until completely smooth. If you like your sauce slightly thicker, simmer for another few minutes to reduce slightly - if its too thick, add a splash more stock
Drain and add the beans, bring back to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes
Add a few teaspoons of malt vinegar, then taste and adjust the seasoning as you wish
For the mushy peas, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add 3/4 of the frozen peas and boil for 3-4 minutes until just tender
Drain and refresh under running cold water, then use a potato masher or fork to roughly crush the peas. Add the double cream and season with salt. Return to the heat and warm through. Stir through the remaining frozen peas - this adds a great texture
For the fish - place each fillet in a rack in a steamer and steam for 6-7 minutes until the fish is tender - cooking time will depend on your fish but you want to cook it until is just starts to flake
To serve, warm back through the beans and mushy peas
Add the beans to a bowl, top with the mushy peas. Flake the fish over the top before crushing the crisps and sprinkling over
Finish with a few drops of malt vinegar over the top
