This is the easiest way to cook fish, just a little lemon and butter sauce. Do remember that fish cooks very quickly. It should be cooked long enough for it to retain its moisture and goodness.

Hake is always good value. It is very popular at the restaurant and I probably cook it once a week at home. Make sure all of the bones are out, but your fishmonger should do that for you. You can serve it with any vegetables in-season. Instead of the mangetout I particularly like sprouting broccoli.

Everybody loves fish and chips. It is not just a fast food, it is a great combination and this is the takeaway version done my way. Tartare sauce is a classic with this meal, but adding capers give it a lovely tartness. Chunky pea purée makes a good side dish with any meal and fresh mint is also a great addition.

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This recipe works well with gluten free bread as it crumbs really easily, so do keep it in mind for people on a gluten-free diet.

Happy cooking,

Pan-fried Fish with Lemon and Herb Butter Sauce

Serves 4

4 175g (6oz) white fish fillets (such as hake), skin on and boned

1 tbsp of olive oil

50g (2oz) of butter

1 tbsp of fresh mixed herbs (parsley, chives and tarragon), chopped

Fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steamed mangetout, to serve

Sautéed new potatoes, to serve

1 Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the fish, skin-side down. Cook for one to two minutes, until the skin is just beginning to crisp, then add a little knob of butter to the pan, around each fillet, and cook for another couple of minutes until the skin is crisp.

2 Turn the fish fillets over and cook for another three to four minutes until they’re cooked through. This will depend on the thickness of the fillets. Transfer to warmed serving plates while you make the sauce.

3 Add the rest of the butter to the frying pan that you have cooked the fish in and allow it to melt over a moderate heat. Quickly add the herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice, swirling to combine. Season to taste.

4 To serve, spoon the lemon and herb butter sauce over the fish fillets and add the mangetout. Add a separate warmed dish of the sautéed new potatoes to each plate.

Fish and Chips with Pea Purée and Tartare Sauce

Serves 4

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

8 rooster potatoes, peeled

100g (4oz) of plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

200g (7oz) of fresh white breadcrumbs

1 tsp of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp of sesame seeds

4 175g (6oz) white fillets, boned and skinned (such as haddock or hake)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chunky pea purée

400g (14oz) of frozen peas

2 tbsp of crème fraîche

Lemon juice, plus wedges to garnish

Tartare sauce

50g (2oz) of gherkins, rinsed and finely chopped

150g (5oz) of mayonnaise

50g (2oz) of capers, rinsed and finely chopped

1 tsp of chopped fresh dill

1 tsp of chopped fresh chives

Squeeze of lemon juice

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F/gas mark two). Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or a deep-sided pan, making sure it’s only half full, until it reaches 160°C (325°F). Cut the potatoes into skinny chips and then place them in a bowl of cold water (this helps to remove the starch). Drain the water and then dry the chips really well before placing them in a wire basket and lowering them into the heated oil.

2 Cook for three to four minutes, until cooked through but not coloured. Drain well on kitchen paper and set aside.

3 Increase the temperature of the oil to 190°C (375°F) and prepare the fish. Place the flour on a flat plate and season to taste. Put the beaten eggs and some seasoning in a shallow dish and mix the breadcrumbs with the parsley and sesame seeds in another dish.

4 Coat the fish in the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip into the beaten egg and finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Quickly place in the heated oil and cook for five to six minutes, until crisp and golden brown – the exact time will depend on the thickness of the fillets.

5 Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven – this should only be for one to two minutes so that the batter doesn’t lose any of its crispness.

6 To make the chunky pea purée, cook the peas in a pan of boiling salted water for two to three minutes, until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Add the crème fraîche and lemon juice, then season to taste. Using a hand blender, blitz to a chunky purée. Keep warm.

7 To make the tartare sauce, mix the mayonnaise in a bowl with the gherkins, capers, herbs, lemon juice and seasoning.

8 To serve, tip the blanched chips back into the wire basket and then carefully lower them into the heated oil. Cook for one to two minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper and season with salt, then arrange on warmed serving plates with the crispy fish, chunky pea purée, tartare sauce and lemon wedges. CL