Fresh Hake in Beer Batter

We all know that fish is good for us, right?  Right!  What is not so good is  fish in batter, loaded with preservatives and trans-fats, that we buy in our local supermarkets.  As a mom that is trying to improve the quality of my children’s food I am on the lookout for the above mentioned nasties most of the time.  It is however true that my children, like most other children I’m sure, loves a batter of sorts around their hake.  Hey, lets face it: somehow it just seems more exiting to have a golden crusty batter around soft steamy fish.  Yes yes, I know, deep-fried is not the preferred choice of cooking method but every once in a while I break our normal regime of hake grilled with lemon and herbs and splash out!

This is a very simple recipe but the results were lovely.  Golden brown batter enveloping hot, soft, steamy fish.  I decided to cut the chips and add roasted veggies in which I limited the oil.  Sorry to all the fish and chips lovers.  Maybe next time hey?

Regarding the veggies: I add some sweet chilli sauce at the end of the roasting time to my veg.  This adds further lovely flavor and a beautiful glossy look to the dish.  I learned this from my mom-in-law who is also a very talented cook.  Thanks Ma Wilma!

Recipe:

Ingredients

Fish:

• 600g Fresh Hake Fillets
• 1 cup of Cake Flour
• 1 can of Beer
• 1 big hand full of Italian Flat Leave Parsley
• 1/2 t of Paprika
• 1 t of Salt
• 1 t Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 Egg lightly whisked
•  Enough Canola oil to cover Fish in a deep pan.

Method:

Fish:

1. Place all ingredients, except for fish, into a mixing bowl and mix with a balloon whisk to form a light fluffy batter
2. Heat oil in a deep-frying pan.  It is ready when you drop a small amount of batter into the oil and it starts bubbling immediately
3. Dip fish fillets into batter and place very carefully into hot oil.  Fry for about 3-4  minutes.  Be careful to not overheat oil as this will over fry the fish and the batter.
4. Once the fish is golden, remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil

Roasted Veggies:

1. Preheat oven to 220° C
2. Place all veggies into a large roasting pan and spread out evenly
3. Coat with a light spray of olive oil
4. Add roasted veggie spice and mix lightly with veg
5. Roast Veg for about 40 minutes or until all is soft and slightly caramelized
6. When the veggies are done roasted, remove from oven and spray very lightly once more with olive oil spray
7. Add the Sweet Chilli Sauce and mix softly into veggies

I added a garden salad to top up the plates.

Bon appetit!