Pepita Crusted Fish & Chips

Chef Scott Hoffner from Didi's Downtown shares the recipe for fish and chips with a fun fall twist. You can make it at home or find it on the menu at a suburban hot spot.

Homemade French Fries

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
32oz soybean oil for frying
½ tsp Kosher salt

Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water. Set aside. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the potatoes into thin fries (about 1/3"-1/2" thick). Transfer the cut potatoes to the cold water. Swish the potatoes in the water with you hand and drain the water from the potatoes. Refill the bowl with cold water and rinse again. Use paper towels to pat dry the potatoes.

Add the oil to a medium dutch oven. Put the potatoes into the cold oil. Place the oven on the stove and turn the heat to medium-medium high. The oil will bubble briskly once it comes to temperature. Cook the potatoes for 25-30 minutes until crisp outside and tender inside, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.

Use a spider or slotted spoon to scoop out the fries and transfer them to the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle the fries with salt. Serve.

Tartar Sauce

1 Cup mayonnaise
2 Cup Dill pickles
¼ C chopped fresh dill
1 Tbs fine diced red onion
1 Tbs dry dill
1 tsp dry mustard
1 Tbs Capers
1 Tbs horseradish
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp lemon juice

Stir the indredients together in a bowl.

Tempura Batter

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 large egg
1 cup water (ice cold)
Ice cubes (for chilling the water)
½ Cup beer (Shiner Bock recommended
½ Cup Pepitas (baby pumpkin seeds)
1 lb fresh Atlantic Cod

In a small bowl, sift flour once or twice to remove any clumps and to make it light and soft. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, gently beat 1 egg until the yolk and egg whites are just barely incorporated.

Prepare ice cold water by combining water and ice cubes in a cup. Using a strainer, measure 1 cup of ice cold water and add it to the bowl with the beaten egg. Make sure you do not actually add ice cubes to the tempura batter mixture.

Add the sifted flour into the bowl with the egg and water mixture and lightly combine the flour using chopsticks. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.

The batter is now ready for immediate use. If for some reason the batter won't be used immediately, place it in the refrigerator temporarily (for a few short minutes) to keep it ice cold until you're ready to deep-fry your tempura. Otherwise, we don't recommend storing it in the fridge for an extended period of time.