Deep Fried Coley Fillet with Onion Rings
Coley makes an excellent choice if you are looking for a sustainable alternative to its close cousin, the endangered Atlantic cod. Considerably cheaper to buy than cod and often easier for inshore fishermen to catch, coley can be used as a direct replacement for cod in virtually any recipe. It can be deep fried as in this dish, shallow fried, baked or grilled and makes for a tasty meal cooked in any of these ways. While deep fried fish in the UK would normally be served with chips (big French fries) homemade onion rings are prepared here as a tasty and enjoyable alternative.
Ingredients
Cook Time
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ready in: 30 min
Yields: Makes one portion
Ingredients
- 1 coley fillet, skinless and boneless
- 2 slices white onion
- 6 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
- ΒΌ pint milk
- Sea salt
- 2 or 3 lettuce leaves, shredded
- 4 or 5 black olives, pitted and halved
- 1 slice of lemon
- Small parsley sprig
How to Make the Onion Rings
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- Be sure to slice the onion across the way that the slices can be separated in to rings.
- Put two tablespoons of flour in to a plastic dish with a lid and the other four in to a separate dish.
- Season the four tablespoons of flour with salt. Very slowly, stir in cold water from a jug, whisking with a fork, until you have batter the consistency of thick cream. This will be used both for the onion rings and coley.
- Stir the onion rings in the milk, drain through a colander and add them to the first dish of flour. Put the lid on and invert a few times. Dip them in the batter and add to a deep frying pan of hot oil for two minutes each side.
- Drain the onions on kitchen paper. Add them to a plate and put them in a low oven to keep crisp and warm.
How to Cook the Coley
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- Dip the coley in the batter and allow the excess to drip off.
- Very carefully, lay it in the hot oil and fry for three minutes. Turn the fish and fry on the second side for three further minutes.
- Drain on fresh kitchen paper.
Plating Your Meal
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- Lay the lettuce leaves on half of the serving plate and arrange the olive halves around the edge.
- Plate the onion rings on the other half of the plate.
- Place the coley fillet carefully on the lettuce.
- Cut the lemon slice almost in half and twist before garnishing with the parsley.
