A Chip Shop Favourite – Low Carb

Fish had never been my first choice for a home cooked meal and I usually failed to eat the two servings a week that experts recommend. The high price relative to a far more nutritious portion of liver relegated it to the occasional trip to the chip shop with a head full of misguided dogma that I was having fresh fish with healthy carbs, cooked in healthy vegetable oil and prepared from scratch by my friendly chippie. I was more concerned by the ‘artery clogging’ eggs that may have been lurking in the batter. But on an unannounced visit to my family’s home recently, I found myself confronted by ravenous nieces tucking into a huge portion of our British staple drenched in vinegar and liberally doused in (table) salt.

Slightly repulsed by the thought of food that had been fried in week-old toxic oil, reused to the point of becoming trans fat, yet drooling at the sight and smell of this past-life pleasure, I decided to return home via the supermarket, pick up a portion of cod and set to work on a low carb tribute.

A flour-free batter was the main challenge but after a search of several recipes online, I combined elements of each (with a few additions) and created what I believe to be a fair approximation of the real thing.

1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Almond Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon of cold Sparkling Water
Salt & Black Pepper
(Blend all with a stick blender until smooth)

Cutting the fish into bite-sized pieces, patting them dry with a paper towel then sprinkling with salt and pepper I dredged them in the batter and fried for 5 minutes each side in equal amounts of butter and olive oil.

Served with a side salad, lemon mayonnaise and a sprinkling of probiotic pickle juice & sea salt, these tasty and surprisingly succulent morsels really did deliver.

…Sorry local chippie, you’ve just lost a customer!