fish and chips ("chippy's" style)

* from a recipe by John Lee of Chippy's in Toronto

ingredients:

batter
8 fillets halibut or haddock, each about 3.5 ounces/100 grams
1 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle Guinness, extra stout
3/4 cup filtered or bottled water
vegetable oil, for deep frying

1. Combine cornstarch, flour and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the Guinness and water until smooth.

2 Add oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot (fill so oil comes 1⁄2 way up the pot). Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Dip fish in batter. Carefully add battered fish to oil and deep fry fish until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Serve with chips and tartar sauce on the side (we made half regular potato chips and half sweet potato chips).

tartar sauce:
2 tablespoon chopped sour pickles
1 tablespoon chopped capers
Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Add the pickles, capers and mayonnaise to a food processor. Pulse to combine. Stir in the lemon juice. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Serve with the fish.

notes: