Several entrees feature fairly prominently in the book Matilda: Mr. Wormwood’s breakfast, TV dinners, fish and chips, and the school’s sausage and bean lunch. Although the Wormwood family’s TV dinners are the most iconic to the book, they’re technically a full meal and would be pretty time consuming to re-create. Plus, I was much more intrigued by the idea of fish and chips. I’d never made them before, so I was eager to try my hand! And since we observe meatless Fridays at my house, I’m always on the lookout for new meatless recipes to try. 🙂

This particular recipe comes from Tide and Thyme. The beer batter for the fish is easy and flavorful, and the copycat Red Lobster tartar sauce recipe I found on Simplee Thrifty was the perfect condiment. The chips were easily my favorite part—I’m a sucker for a good ol’ french fry!

However, I will admit that slicing, soaking, and frying all the potatoes in addition to the fish was pretty time consuming. They both tasted good, but I think I’ll treat them as separate recipes and pair them with more low-maintenance dishes in the future. After all, beer-battered fish pairs perfectly with lots of easy side dishes (we’re having it again this Friday, and I’m planning on serving roasted broccoli on the side). And next time the Mister wants to grill burgers, I can be inside making some delicious homemade fries!

A

Fish and Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce

“…This time it was fish and chips which Mrs Wormwood had picked up in the fish and chip shop on her way home from bingo. It seemed that bingo afternoons left her so exhausted both physically and emotionally that she never had enough energy left to cook an evening meal. So if it wasn’t TV dinners it had to be fish and chips.”

— Matilda

INGREDIENTS:

• For the Fish and Chips
  • 5 russet potatoes, well-rinsed and dried
  • 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt, separated
  • 4 cups warm water (not pictured)
  • 1 1/4 cups flour, separated
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup full-flavored beer (I used Founder’s porter)
  • 2 whole cod fillets (approx. 1 lb each)
  • vegetable oil
• For the Tartar Sauce
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tsp finely diced onion
  • 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
  • 1 tbsp minced carrot
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (I had some on hand to use as garnish for the fish, so I added some to the tartar sauce for color and freshness.)

Makes 6-8 servings

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. 1. Start by peeling the sides of your potatoes, leaving skin on the top and bottom. Cut your potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise into 1/2″-thick disks (depending on the size of your potatoes, you should have 4-6 disks/potato). Cut each disk into 1/4″-thick sticks.
         
         

         

         

      2. In a large bowl, dissolve 2 tbsp kosher salt in the warm water and add the potato sticks, allowing them to soak for 15 minutes. While you wait, fill a large pot just under half full of vegetable oil and bring to 375° over medium heat. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
         
      3. Drain the potato sticks and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels or clean dish towels.
      4. Fry them in the oil in small batches for 3 minutes, transferring them to the towel-lined baking sheet to drain. When the last batch of chips has finished frying, allow the oil to come back up to 375°, then briefly re-fry in small batches for 1 minute each. Place the chips in a 200° oven on the towel-lined baking sheet to keep them warm while you work on the fish.
         
      5. Spread out the 1/4 cup flour on a large plate and set aside. Stir together the 1 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the beer until combined and set aside.
      6. Whole cod fillets are quite large, so you’ll want to cut them into quarters for even cooking (the wide end is thicker on one side, so I cut that side into shorter pieces).
         
         

         Before

         

         After

      7. Coat one piece of cod with flour and tap off the excess. Dredge the fillet in batter and fry for 6-9 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet with a wire rack placed over the top. Repeat with the remaining pieces of cod.
         
         

         

         Porter is quite dark, which results in a darker batter. If you use a lighter-colored beer, your finished fish will be a little lighter than this.

      8. In a medium bowl, stir together your tartar sauce ingredients until combined. Spoon onto plates or into individual serving cups.
         
      9. Serve while pretending to watch television (when you’re actually reading under the table).

         

    

   Check out my other Roald Dahl recipes!

   

   Big Apple Hand Pies from James and the Giant Peach

   

   Fried Snowballs from James and the Giant Peach

   

   Honey-Glazed Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon Ice Cream from James and the Giant Peach

   

   Gummy Newts from Matilda