I was recently asked if I like to get involved in the McCain Kids Teatime Takeover (#KidsTeatimeTakeover ) where every Thursday kids are encouraged to swap roles and get them involved in making tea. So of course this meant asking my 12 year daughter and she was very up for the challenge. McCain sent a useful hamper of products to help her, along with a recipe for Fish & Chips developed by Kids Teatime Takeover ambassador Holly Bell of Recipes from a Normal Mum. My daughter is a keen baker but had never cooked a savoury dish before or handled raw fish so this was a baptism of fire! There were a few groans about icky fingers but did a really good job and managed to coat and fry the fish to perfection as well as cook the chips and petite pois. Being a shy sort she insisted on no photos of her face so you can just see her hand shots instead!
Sadly the chefs hat was a little small but the apron came in very useful!
Why don’t you give join in the Kids Teatime Takeover and see how much your children can learn. With young children it will help with their motor skills, maths (when weighing and measuring) as well as giving them confidence and a sense of achievement. Older children will of course be able to do more of the cooking by themselves and will have ideas that they will want to try out. My daughter decided to cut up the fish into smaller pieces as the fish were not evenly sized. She also doubled the recipe as she wanted to cook for the whole family.
Cooking the chips and making the fish coating (we used cod).
So what did everyone think of the meal? Well we all really enjoyed the Fish and Chips and hubby was first to say he’d like it again as well as saying how much he liked the McCain Rustic Chips which we’d not had before. The tasty coating on the fish was really good and having fresh fish and not frozen battered fish made a really nice change.
Who needs a fish and chips takeaway when your kids can make this?
I do hope this has encouraged you to get your kids in the kitchen whatever age they are!
Fish and Chips #KidsTeatimeTakeover
Ingredients
- 500 g McCain 3% Fat Rustic Chips
- 2 Tilapia fillets skin removed (or any boneless, skinless fillets)
- 1 Free range egg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
- ½ tsp Dried thyme
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ tsp Freshly ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
- 200 g Frozen petite pois
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/Fan 210°C/Gas Mark 7.
- Place the McCain 3% Fat Rustic Chips onto a baking tray in one even layer and bake in the overn for between 16 – 19 minutes, turning occasionally.
- In the meantime get making the fish coating.
- Remove the fish from the fridge, crack the egg into a bowl, add a tiny pinch of salt and use a fork to mix.
- Then mix, together the rest of the salt, flour, thyme, paprika, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl.
- Dip the fish fillets into the egg first, then coat in the flour mixture and place on a plate ready for frying.
- Five minutes before the chips are ready, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Sprinkle a little of the spare flour mixture in the oil and if it starts to sizzle immediately then place both fillets into he pan, very gently. Be careful as hot oil spits. (Holly says she asks her boys to set the table for her rather than helping as hot oil and young kids aren't a combination she finds restful).
- Fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown and then remove from the pan and drain on a sheet of kitchen paper.
- Boil or heat the petite pois in the microwave according to the packet instructions.
- Serve the healthier fish, chips and petite pois, possibly with a little tartar sauce on the side.
This was only the second time my daughter had fried anything and I think she did a fabulous job!
NB: Post commissioned by McCain, all opinions are my own or those of my family.
Great recipe x
This looks perfect for hungry munchkins afer school, I will definitely be trying this later this week
Great, it was a real winner:-)
The batter on this fish sounds tremendous, thyme and paprika play so nicely together 🙂
Yes Brian it was delicious and a recipe we will be repeating:-)
You know, I’ve never fried fish – and, looking at this, I can’t think why not. Surely if your daughter can do it… LOL
Good for her. I was also learning to cook at that age, and it was so good a few years later to really know how!
I fry lots of salmon and trout but have never battered white fish like this either which is daft so shall be doing it from now on as it was so delicious and fresh unlike a frozen battered fillet!
I remember meals like this. Love those peas and good on you for feeding them to kids!
I didn’t feed my kids, my daughter made this whole meal for us:-)
I remember when I was 12 and sometimes made dinner for my family and it such fun! Your doughter did a great job 🙂
Aaw, thanks Teresa. I remember cycling hot with a stew I’d made in Home-Economics strapped to the back of my bike, it was a miracle there was any left in the dish each time!
We just came back from England this late summer and your post made us long for fish and chips! My kids would love this for sure!
Well you just have to get them in the kitchen helping to make this then:-)
I really believe in letting kids into the kitchen. My granddaughter loves to help especially if it involves crumbing.
Your daughter did a fabulous job with that fish!
Thank you Ange, she really did:-)
I love fish and chips! I don’t think we have those chips here in the US but they sure look delicious! I love the spices you are using in this dish!
Thanks Sherri, yes the spices worked really well with the fish:-)