Vegetarian fish and chips.

Ingredients

I-2 packets of Halloumi cheese
125 g plain flour
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp salt
Few drops of vegetable oil for the batter and enough to cover the ‘fish’ as it fries.
125 ml warm milk and water, about half and half
1tsp baking powder
400g potatoes

Method

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, make a well in the middle of the flour and then add the oil and a small amount of the half milk, half warm water mixture. Stir slowly bringing down more and more of the flour mixture until it is all combined. Beat well until it is very smooth, you can do this by hand or use an electric beater.

Wash the potatoes but do not peel. Cut them into wedges and spread them out onto a lightly greased baking sheet, sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste. Place the baking sheet onto the middle shelf of an oven pre heated to 180c, they will take approximately forty minutes to cook depending on how chunky you have made your wedges. Once the wedges are cooked and golden turn the oven down as low as it will go and leave the wedges to keep hot. They won’t burn but will stay hot and crispy until you are ready to serve them.

Cut the Halloumi into either thick finger shapes, wedges cut to resemble fish filets or simply cut into chunks. Pat the cheese shapes dry with kitchen towels or a clean tea towel and then dip them into the batter mixture making sure that they are completely coated.

Heat the oil to 150c, this dish is best cooked in a deep fat fryer, but if you don’t have one of those you can use a large heavy based saucepan instead, be careful not to overfill it as the hot oil can easily bubble over with disastrous results. Drop the battered cheese pieces into the hot oil one at a time, do not overload the pan as it’s better to cook the cheese in batches than risk it burning or sticking to the pan. Once cooked drain well onto absorbent kitchen paper. You can always put the cooked pieces onto a tray and keep them hot in the oven with the wedges.
Serve with peas or salad and garnish with fresh parsley, lemon wedges and a little tartar sauce. Delicious.