Fish & Chips

Preheat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas 2. Line a baking tray with double-thickness kitchen roll.

Peel the potatoes, cut into chips and set aside in cold water. (For frozen chips, skip this step and follow the instructions.)

Sift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk in the lager and soy to make a batter the thickness of double cream.

Pour sunflower oil into a large pan or deep fryer until one-third full. Heat to 120C or until a small piece of bread sizzles gently when dropped in the oil.

Drain the chips, pat dry with kitchen roll and use to fill a chip basket a quarter of the way up. Lower into the oil and cook for 6-8 mins until soft but not coloured. Lift out and set aside while you cook the rest. If you don’t have a chip basket, add a small bowlful of chips to your pan with a slotted spoon, stirring gently.

Increase the heat of the oil to 180C, or until it’s hot enough for a piece of bread dropped in to turn brown within 20 secs.

Put some flour on a plate. Dust one piece of the cod in the flour to coat lightly all over, then shake off any excess. Dip in the batter so the fish is well coated. Put in the hot oil and fry for 8-10 mins until golden brown and crisp. Put on the baking tray and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the other piece of cod.

When the fish is cooked, fry the chips again in batches, for 3-5 mins, until crisp and brown. Drain on kitchen roll. Serve the fish and chips with lemon wedges.