Herby beer-battered lemon sole goujons with chunky pea purée and rapeseed tartare sauce

A lighter fried fish supper that ditches the chips for glorious Jersey Royal potatoes.

Preparation method

1. For the herby beer-battered lemon sole, sprinkle the yeast, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl, whisk in the beer and vinegar, then the flour and herbs.

2. Set aside in a warm place to ferment for one hour, or until the mixture begins to bubble.

3. Meanwhile, for the rapeseed tartare sauce, whisk the egg yolks and vinegar together in a bowl.

4. Continue to whisk the mixture and slowly pour in the rapeseed oil until all of the oil is incorporated and mixture is thick and light.

5. Stir in the capers, gherkins, shallot and herbs. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Set the tartare sauce aside in the fridge.

6. For the pea purée and potatoes, cook the Jersey Royal potatoes in boiling water for 10-12 minutes, or until tender.

7. Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Add the butter and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

8. Meanwhile, cook the peas and half of the mint in boiling, salted water for 3-4 minutes, or until the peas are tender.

9. Drain the peas, then blend in a food processor, with the remaining mint and crème fraîche, to a chunky purée.

10. Return the mixture to the pan and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice.

11. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a deep heavy-based frying pan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

12. Dip the lemon sole goujons into the batter and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown. (You may need to do this in batches.) Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

13. To serve, spoon the purée into the centre of each of four serving plates and top with the lemon sole goujons. Pile some potatoes alongside and finish with a spoon of tartare sauce.

Required techniques

• Using fresh yeast
• Knife skills: how to finely chop