Plaice With Courgette Fries is a great dish for those times of year when there are plenty of these summer vegetables in the shops or maybe your garden? Crisp fries, sweet place fillets some tangy sauce for dunking…and a glass of cold white wine. What could be better for a summer supper or lunch? All quick and easy to prepare and cook. Recipe below is for two people however it is easy to scale up for more lucky people.
Ingredients For Plaice With Courgette Fries
Two plaice fillets from Walter Purkis & Sons
Plain flour for dusting
Butter and oil for frying
For The Courgette Fries
3 or 4 medium courgettes, cut into thin batons/shoestrings (about 4mm thick)
Vegetable oil for frying
200g plain flour
Half pint of milk
Chunky sea salt for seasoning
For The Sauce
3 generous tablespoons of a good mayonnaise
3 tsp capers
Fresh dill roughly chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
A few scrapes of lemon zest
Cooking Method For Plaice With Courgette Fries
Getting your timing right will help get this dish just right – if left too long the fries will lose some of their crunch. We suggest cooking the fish first followed by the courgettes, then eating right away.
Make the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together and allowing the flavours to mingle.
Start by getting your pan ready for cooking the courgette. A deeper pan with high sides will be good for this. Heat the oil until it reaches 190°c. if you do not have a thermometer a cube/crust of bread will brown in less than a minute when at the right heat.
While the oil is heating fry the fish fillets. Pat dry with some paper towel or cloth, dry fish will be less inclined to stick. Dust with some flour. Heat the butter and a little oil in a frying pan when hot put in the plaice skin side down. when brown on the skin side and the flesh is starting to firm turn over and cook briefly on the flesh side. Remove and put to one side in a warm place. NB The fish will cook a bit more when resting so do not overcook.
To cook the vegetables dip a good handful of the courgette strings in the milk then roll in the flour. place in the hot oil until golden and crispy – it will only take a few minutes. Cook in smaller batches, each time the oil temperature will drop so allow the oil to reheat before the next handful.
Serve and eat right away.
If you would like some other plaice recipes or cooking inspiration check our blog here >>