Panko Cod Cheeks with Skinny Oven Chips

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This panko cod cheeks with skinny oven chips recipe is a mixture of my own, plus inspiration for the chips from the February 2018 Delicious magazine, and the BBC Good Food website for the optional, very quick and easy to make tartar sauce.

I'd never eaten or cooked with cod cheeks before and bought a 500g pack from a local fishmonger back in November last year when I did an online delivery order.   I put them in the freezer until I decided what to make!

We love and chips, so decided to try our version with half of the pack, and breaded the cod cheeks with panko breadcrumbs.   We'd also been looking through February magazines from previous years and the cover of the February 2018 Delicious magazine has a rib steak with skinny oven chips, so I thought I'd give them a go.

Tartar sauce is pretty quick and easy to make, and we love it with fish and chips.   We've always got mayo, gherkins, capers and a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge, and dried herbs in the cupboard, so I made some to go with our 'fish and chips'.

The breaded cod cheeks are delicious and tender on the inside and lovely and crispy on the outside.   The skinny oven chips are full of flavour and crispy.   Enjoy with our homemade creamy tangy tartar sauce, if you like.

Tips

• Chips – the original recipe for the chips uses duck fat. I didn’t have any left, so used beef dripping, which worked really well.   You could use goose fat too.
• This cod cheeks with skinny oven chips recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people.

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Ingredients

For the skinny oven chips:

• 500g Maris Piper potatoes, unpeeled and sliced into thin chips
• 30g beef dripping, duck or goose fat (see Tips)
• 2 tbsp fine polenta
• salt

For the cod cheeks:

• 250g cod cheeks, patted dry with kitchen roll and placed in a bowl
• 25g plain flour
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg
• 50g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Homemade tartar sauce (optional):

• 90g mayonnaise (I use light mayonnaise)
• 1 gherkin, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
• 0.25 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 6. Put the chips in cold water and soak for 20 minutes.
2. Now bread the cod cheeks - add the flour to the bowl the cod cheeks are in, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat well. Put the egg in a small bowl and lightly beat it, and put the panko breadcrumbs in another bowl.   Dip each floured cod cheek into the beaten egg and then coat in the panko breadcrumbs and place on a clean plate.   Once all the cod cheeks are coated in the breadcrumbs, place in the fridge until ready to fry.
3. When the 20 minutes soaking of the chips is up, drain them and then pat dry with kitchen roll. Put the dripping or fat in a large baking tray and heat in the oven for 5 minutes until very hot but not smoking.
4. Add the chips to the hot fat, toss to coat, then sprinkle over the polenta, season with salt and toss again. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until golden and crisp.
5. While the chips are cooking, make the tartar sauce (optional) – mix all of the ingredients together in a small serving bowl and set aside in the fridge.
6. When the chips have around 15 minutes left to cook, heat 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cod cheeks (if your frying pan is large enough, you should be able to fit them all in) and fry for 2 minutes on each side.   When you turn them over after being cooked for the first 2 minutes, you might want to add the third tbsp of vegetable oil and then baste the fish with the extra oil to cook the sides, if the cheeks are quite large or deep.   Place the cooked fish on a clean plate with kitchen roll to drain.
7. Serve the cod cheeks with the chips, tartar sauce (optional) and a green salad or, we like peas and sweetcorn on the side…enjoy!

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Panko Cod Cheeks with Skinny Oven Chips

Deborah

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Course Main, Main Course

Cuisine british

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

For the skinny oven chips:

• 500g Maris Piper potatoes unpeeled and sliced into thin chips
• 30g beef dripping duck or goose fat (see Notes)
• 2 tbsp fine polenta
• salt

For the cod cheeks:

• 250g cod cheeks patted dry with kitchen roll and placed in a bowl
• 25g plain flour
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg
• 50g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Homemade tartar sauce (optional):

• 90g mayonnaise (I use light mayonnaise)
• 1 gherkin finely chopped
• 1 tbsp capers drained and chopped
• 0.25 tsp dried tarragon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 6. Put the chips in cold water and soak for 20 minutes.
• Now bread the cod cheeks - add the flour to the bowl the cod cheeks are in, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat well. Put the egg in a small bowl and lightly beat it, and put the panko breadcrumbs in another bowl.   Dip each floured cod cheek into the beaten egg and then coat in the panko breadcrumbs and place on a clean plate.   Once all the cod cheeks are coated in the breadcrumbs, place in the fridge until ready to fry.
• When the 20 minutes soaking of the chips is up, drain them and then pat dry with kitchen roll. Put the dripping or fat in a large baking tray and heat in the oven for 5 minutes until very hot but not smoking.
• Add the chips to the hot fat, toss to coat, then sprinkle over the polenta, season with salt and toss again. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until golden and crisp.
• While the chips are cooking, make the tartar sauce (optional) – mix all of the ingredients together in a small serving bowl and set aside in the fridge.
• When the chips have around 15 minutes left to cook, heat 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cod cheeks (if your frying pan is large enough, you should be able to fit them all in) and fry for 2 minutes on each side.   When you turn them over after being cooked for the first 2 minutes, you might want to add the third tbsp of vegetable oil and then baste the fish with the extra oil to cook the sides, if the cheeks are quite large or deep.   Place the cooked fish on a clean plate with kitchen roll to drain.
• Serve the cod cheeks with the chips, tartar sauce (optional) and a green salad or, we like peas and sweetcorn on the side…enjoy!

Notes

• Chips – the original recipe for the chips uses duck fat. I didn’t have any left, so used beef dripping, which worked really well.   You could use goose fat too.
• This cod cheeks with skinny oven chips recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people.

 

You might also like to try:

• fish dishes

Keyword chunky oven chips, fish and chips, homemade, panko breadcrumbs, polenta, skinny fries, tartar sauce