Pub-style fish & chips now lectin free. Wild cod dredged in tapioca starch, coated with non-beer batter, deep fried in pure olive oil and served with tartar sauce.
Pub-style fish and chips are thick cutlets of fresh Alaskan cod, coated with rich beer batter and deep fried to a golden brown. Often served with house made tartar sauce and malt vinegar, fish and chips are a favorite item to order out, especially at your favorite local pub.
Making this dish lectin free takes a quite a few ingredient swaps, but most of them you probably already have on hand. The recipe isn't hard at all. Just a few steps. I used wild Alaskan cod, and make an "non-beer" batter out of seltzer water and malt vinegar and my LFG flour blend. Real beer poses a problem because according to Dr. Gundry, beer is full of lectins. In theory, the fermentation process should have killed them, but err on the safe side and use the non-beer batter recipe with a special familiar ingredient.
Oh, and I should mention the chips. They are sweet potato wedges. And boy they're good!
These fish and chips are crispy on the outside and tender and flaky on the inside. They taste just like the pub original without the lectins. I serve it all on a bed of fresh crispy napa cabbage. And yes, eat the cabbage too. It's delicious. This is the perfect triangle of good proteins, good fats and fresh veggies. Not to mention some great resistant starch. There is no special equipment needed for this;however, a deep fryer filled with pure olive oil helps get the fish and chips to their desired crispiness and gets enough healthy oil into your body. Remember, fat is good!
Let's get to making this.
The Recipe
(Feeds 2 - 3 people)
Lectin Free Gourmet Fish & Chips
(2) 4 oz. Wild Alaskan Cod Fillets cut into (6) 1 inch strips total
LFG Non-Beer Batter
2 Pastured or Omega-3 Eggs
1/2 C La Croix (or similar seltzer water)**
2 T Malt Vinegar
1 t Cream of Tartar
1/4 - 1/3 C LFG Flour Blend*
Dredge
4 T Arrowroot Flour for Dredging
1 t Salt
Chips
1 Large Sweet Potato cut into wedges
1/2 t Salt
House Made Tartar Sauce
1/4 C Primal Kitchens Garlic Aioli Mayonnaise
2 T Chopped Pickles***
2 t Dried Dill
1 t Malt Vinegar
*LFG Flour is 2:1:1 cassava, coconut and almond flours
**Suze, one of our LFG members, added a bit more seltzer water for lower altitudes, but play around with the batter adding flour or water as necessary to get the right consistency.
*** Use any pickled vegetables you like. If using pickled cucumbers, be sure they are real pickles fermented in brine, not canned in hot vinegar. The fermentation process kills lectins.
Instructions:
Step 1: Make the Non-Beer Batter
Preheat the deep fryer to 300 degrees. Your fryer should be filled with a good oil like pure olive. In a medium bowl, add eggs, seltzer water, vinegar, and cream of tartar. Whisk until frothy. Gradually whisk in flour until you get a nice thick beer batter consistency. Set aside.
Step 2: Dredge the Cod
In a zipper bag or paper lunch bag, add arrowroot flour and salt. Drop in all six of the fish strips and seal and shake. The fish should be well coated.
Step 3: Batter and Fry
Drop dredged fish into non-beer batter. With a spoon make sure all sides of the fish are well coated with batter. With basket down, drop batter cod strips directly into the hot oil. Fry for about 3 - 4 minutes or until crispy, golden brown. Lift the basket and let the fish drain for 10 seconds before removing. Pile fish all together on one plate to keep warm.
Step 4: Fry the Chips
As soon as the fish is done frying, drop the chips into the hot oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until crisp and tender.
Step 5: Make Tartar Sauce
While chips are frying, whip up the tartar sauce. Just mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Serve fish and chips in baskets lined with napa cabbage. Keep house made tartar and malt vinegar close by.
ENJOY!