Tom’s Indo-Shetlandic fish ‘n’ chips

Frankie’s is our local fish and chip shop. Named after the family’s late dog, Frankie’s opened in 2008 in custom-built premises, and serves everything from garlic-grilled scallops to hake, monkfish, halibut and, of course, haddock. Haddock is the fish of choice in these parts, despite its newfound status as less-sustainable-than-cod.

I love Frankie’s. Which is not to say that the Lerwick chippies - the Happy Haddock, which does phenomenal chips, and the Fort, whose breaded haddock is superb – aren’t wonderful too. But Frankie’s is our local. I did eat there at least once a week before a certain heart issue, and it’s much more than just a fish and chip shop.

For a start, most of Frankie’s menu items are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified, and all the fish comes from the waters around Shetland, meaning not only that they are sustainably caught or harvested, but that they are very low in food miles.

The shop also runs the Frankie’s Fish Course, an educational programme aimed at primary school children. Staff visit schools throughout Shetland to talk about different types of fish and explain why sustainability is vital. They always take along a box of fresh fish and shellfish so that the children can see and touch for themselves, scales, eyes, fins and all.

The shop (well, restaurant) even has an outdoor terrace which is used at least two days a year. It has entered and won a whole heap of awards, even voted best in the UK in 2015 at the National Fish & Chip Awards.

Fish ‘n’ chips is my favourite fish dish. Basic tastes, me, but this is a mildly spiced recipe. Its batter is not like that from the legendary Frankie’s but is modified from that of the late Leslie Forbes and her book Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail, now sadly out of print. Think of this as fish pakora.

This recipe is also a compromise, on the insistence of my son. I actually prefer my breaded fish to be bread-free. Not because of an irrational fear of gluten – I’m a fan of the Baltasound Bakery’s seawater-made Oceanic Oatcakes, blended or bashed until they are Ruskoline-like. Substitute for breadcrumbs entirely, if you will, using as you would the former, following plain (all-purpose) flour and egg. Oatcake schnitzel, anyone?

4 x 200g (7oz) fresh haddock fillets (skinless)

1 egg, beaten

75g (⅔ cup) chickpea (gram) flour

¼ tsp ground turmeric

pinch of ground ginger

100g (1 cup) breadcrumbs (or stale bread, blitzed)

at least 100g (1 cup) leftover or stale oatcakes, crumbled

pinch of chilli powder

table salt

vegetable oil, for frying

For the chips:

2–3 large sweet potatoes, washed

2–3 tsp vegetable oil

good sea salt, for seasoning

Makes enough for 4

Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F)/180°C (350°F) fan/Gas 6. Slice the sweet potatoes into thin lengths somewhat resembling chips, keeping their skins on. Toss these in a roasting tin with the oil and don’t add any salt at this point. Stick them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Prepare three plates: in the first, add your gram flour; in the second, beat your egg with a little salt; in the third, mix the turmeric, ginger, breadcrumbs and crumbled oatcakes. Add the chilli powder, if using, and make sure you season your ‘oatcrumbs’ well.

Dip each piece of fish in turn into the flour, patting off the excess, then into the egg, letting the excess drip, and then into the spicy oatcrumbs.

Preheat a heavy-based frying pan, the base just-coated with vegetable oil, over a medium heat. Fry your fish until golden on each side. A couple of minutes, max.

Try to serve as quickly as possible after cooking, with the chips straight from the oven, sprinkled with plenty of good sea salt.