Fried Fish with Peas and Shallots

Ahh, March in St. Louis. The Cardinals are back on KMOX. Dogtown is preparing for St. Patty’s celebrations. And yes, it’s fish fry season. There are an uncanny amount of restaurants serving fish specials this season, not to mention the traditional Lenten fish fry at your neighborhood parish.

We made a map this year highlighting the locations of both the restaurant and church fish so you can find fish dishes close to your house or explore new ones in a different part of down. BUT, you can’t always eat out. You just can’t.

After visiting England in 2018, we came home wanting to recreate the flavors we enjoyed abroad. This dish has easily become one of our favorites, and we often make it for at-home date night meals after the kids are in bed. Now hear us out, neither one of us was a big pea fan until recently. Turns out, we just didn’t like how they had been cooked in the past. The shallot in this recipe takes the peas to a new level.

We recommend serving with a caper tartar sauce and malt vinegar for dunking or drizzling. As always with recipes on this site, please be careful. Enjoy!

Fried Cod

Prep Time 2 hours Cook Time: 20 minutes

Fish Prep:

1 lb Cod cut into four 4 oz. pieces

Salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour (for dredge)

Fish Batter:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

8-10 oz. club soda

1 teaspoon of honey

Oil for frying – Any high smoke point oil will do. We fill a large aluminum pot with a 32 oz. oil container of canola, vegetable, peanut, etc. When you’re done frying, and the oil is cool, you can funnel it back into the container and reuse it a couple more times.

Cut your Cod into roughly 4 oz. pieces so that they fry at the same rate. Salt both sides of the fish (we use Diamond Kosher) and store it in the fridge on a baking sheet for an hour so the fish can dry out a bit and absorb some of the seasoning. If you skip this step, your fish won’t be deeply seasoned and you’re likely to make more of a mess when you fry.

Preheat your oil in a fry-safe vessel to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Make sure that you do not fill your frying vessel much more than halfway to the top to insure that your oil doesn’t bubble over when you add the fish. Make the batter by whisking together the all purpose flour, rice flour, salt, and garlic powder in a medium sized bowl. Gently whisk in your club soda. The batter should resemble the consistency of melted ice cream. When the consistency is where you want it, gently mix in the honey. Set the batter aside and get the fish out of the fridge. Pat all sides dry with a paper towel. Dredge the fish in a 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. When your oil is hitting 375 degrees, take one piece of the fish and dip it into the batter. Drain the excess batter and gently lower the fish into the fry oil. Don’t overcrowd the fish, if you can only fit a couple pieces at a time, that’s fine. Depending on the size of your vessel, give the fish some room to move around and watch that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Cook for 3 minutes while occasionally rotating the fish so both sides cook evenly. A chopstick works great for moving the fish. Remove the fish from the oil and move to a wire rack to drain. Finish cooking all your fish and serve with malt vinegar and peas.

Peas with Shallots

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes

1 medium shallot, medium dice

12 oz bag of frozen peas

Olive oil

Salt

1 teaspoon butter

Pre-heat a fry pan to medium heat. Coat the pan with olive oil. Add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook the shallot until it starts to develop a little color. Add 8 oz of peas, more if you like, and cook until tender and bright green. Add the butter and stir to combine. This should all take about 5 minutes. Plate next to your fried fish and enjoy.