Ingredients

4 pieces of haddock
Vegetable oil for deep frying

For the batter
10g fresh yeast
1 x 300ml bottle of beer - ale is best
100g plain flour
80g rice flour
20g cornflour
10g salt

For the tartare sauce
75g cornichons, drained and coarsely chopped
75g small capers, drained
2 shallots, finely diced
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon
1 tbsp finely chopped chervil
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
200ml mayonnaise
2 hard-boiled eggs

For the chips
1kg starchy (chipping) potatoes
Vegetable oil for deep frying

For the mushy peas
A little butter
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
250g dried marrowfat peas, soaked overnight
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
100ml malt vinegar
Salt

Method

• For the batter, whisk the yeast into the beer, then whisk in the flours and salt. Allow to stand in a warm place for about 30 min, during which time it will puff up and bubble.

• To make the tartare sauce, fold all the ingredients, except for the eggs, into the mayonnaise and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

• Peel the potatoes and rinse and dry them. Peel and cut them as you like – we keep our ships quite chunky. Don't put the potatoes in water at this point or you will wash away the valuable starch that you need to prevent them cooking too quickly without softening properly. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer (or large pan filled no more than a third full) to 140°C. Put in the cut potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are soft but not coloured. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.

• For the mushy peas, heat the butter in a pan, add the onions, garlic and celery and cook gently until soft but not coloured. Drain the peas and add them to the pan, along with bicarbonate of soda. Add enough water to cover by 2.5cm. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 1-1.5 hours, topping up with more water if necessary. The crucial thing is not to stir the peas at all during cooking. That is the key to lovely soft peas. Once you stir them, the outside will start to break down, turning the water thick and sludgy and unable to carry on cooking the peas properly. Stir them and you will end up with mushy outsides and hard insides. Once the peas are soft (test one between your fingers), take off the heat and leave to cool. Now you can stir in the vinegar and a good pinch of salt.

• Increase the temperature of the oil to 170°C. Pass the fish through batter and lower it into the oil. Because the fish is quite heavy in its batter it will want to sink at first, and oil won't envelop it properly, so support it lightly with a fish slice or spider until the yeast in the batter puffs it up and it floats by itself. Fry for about 4 min, until golden and crispy, then lift out and drain on kitchen paper.

• Increase the temperature of the oil to 180°C, put in the blanched chips, and cook until golden. Serve with the fish, mushy peas and tartare sauce.